The Man from the Picture
by Marquise de Nile
Summary: Uchiha Sarada was raised by her father, but she has many questions about her mother. The man from the picture is the key to finding out the truth.
1. Chapter 1

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 1**

 **.**

The young Uchiha Sarada spent her road back home after the lessons at the Academy in a sour mood. She was a talented child, some might even throw in the word "prodigy", and the classes didn't challenge her as much as she would have liked. From what her father told her that was to be expected. Members of their clan had ninja arts in their blood and Sarada was no exception to that rule. She had shown a great aptitude for ninja techniques from a young age.

However, her disappointment with the village-provided education wasn't a reason for her disquiet. No, what was bothering her was something much different, something intangible. It shouldn't have affected her. To miss someone she had never known was a height of foolishness, but still, when she looked at what her peers had, she couldn't help but yearn for the same.

A mother.

During the years she had attended the Konoha Academy, she had witnessed her classmates with their mothers, who first walked them to school and picked them up later, then at the various events like festivals. She had seen her friend Chouchou shopping with her mother in the market for food or clothes or sometimes both. She'd seen Inojin's mother drag him off to train together. She'd been invited many times to birthday parties that Boruto's mother had thrown for him or his little sister.

Sarada had no mother.

Once when she'd been much younger, she'd dared ask her father about it.

" _Papa?" Little Sarada fidgeted with the edge of her blue shirt as they walked back from the dinner with Uzumaki family. Her other hand was safely held within her father's big palm._

" _Yes?"_

" _Why don't we have a shrine for Mama?"_

 _Her father abruptly stopped. Sarada looked up at him. He seemed surprised, not angry, a wrinkle creased his forehead as he tried to figure her out._

" _What do you mean?" he asked._

" _Aunt Hinata has a shrine for her cousin Neji in the living room. She showed it to me today. He died in the war and Boruto is named in his honour."_

 _Her father took a deep breath in. Then he kneeled down to look her straight in the eye._

" _Sarada," he said very, very seriously. "Your mother isn't dead."_

" _Then where is she? Why is she never around?" she asked._

 _When her father didn't answer, she started to fret. Did that mean that he didn't know anything? The young girl carefully observed his blank face for any sort of clue._

 _He sighed. "Your mother is alive and she will come back," he said with absolute certainty and poked her on the forehead. Sarada made a pouty face. "Now come, it's getting late."_

 _Sarada wanted to pester him about it some more, but she sensed that she wouldn't get anything more out of him._

Over the years, Sarada learned that any mention of her mother put her father in a strange mood. He didn't react outwardly, but rather became more silent and isolated, often disappearing for hours to the private training grounds. It scared her, so she stopped asking. Only Uncle Naruto or Uncle Kakashi could bring him out of this state.

Sarada entered her house. It was a nice, modern place in the quieter part of the village. No one was home, as her father was on a mission, so without saying a word she went directly to her bedroom and threw her schoolbag on the floor by the desk. After she freshened up, she decided to grab something to bite, but on the way through the living room her attention was snagged by the framed picture on the shelf. Sarada came closer and picked up the frame. It was split into three sections. The one on the left side contained photos of her younger self, her father's picture was on the right side and mother's was in the center. She scrutinized the younger faces of her parents.

This pink-haired, unfamiliar woman on the central photograph was supposed to be her mother. Sarada traced the frozen smile with a fingertip as she looked at the woman's features, picking out similarities to herself. She wasn't sure they were even real or just in her head. Many times she was told how much she resembled her father. She possessed the dark, aristocratic looks of the Uchiha.

Sarada stared at the stranger, at this colourful, vivacious woman with bright green eyes and a cheery smile, then glanced at her own reflection in the glass cabinet. She couldn't fathom how a dull-looking, bespectacled person like her could possibly be related to someone this beautiful.

The front door opened, startling her out of her musings.

"I'm home," she heard her father say. She only had a few seconds when he was taking off his shoes, so she quickly put the picture frame down and rushed to sit on the couch.

"Welcome home, Dad," she greeted when he came in. She was trying to look nonchalant, like she'd been just lounging before the TV for a while. Except the TV wasn't even turned on. "You're early. Sorry I haven't prepared anything to eat yet," she said.

He shrugged as he unclasped his cloak and hang it on the back of the chair. "We can go out for dinner."

"Great!" Sarada injected as much enthusiasm as she could into her tone. She must have overdone it, because Dad gave her a curious look. She smiled innocently, but he already swept his gaze around the room and unerringly zeroed in on the family picture. Her heart plummeted when he strode over to the shelf and corrected the frame's position to the center.

"You were looking at this." His voice didn't betray anything, but it was too blank.

"Dad..." Suddenly, she felt surging anger. Why did he make her all embarrassed and guilty about this? She had a right to look at her family! "When will Mom come back?" she blurted out.

He said nothing, which only spurned her on.

"Why don't you tell me anything about her? She's my mother and I don't know anything about her!"

"What do you want to know?"

"Did she wear glasses?"

He looked surprised at the question, but to her amazement, still answered. "Not that I remember. But I wasn't in the village much when I was younger."

"So you don't know?" she asked, getting even more incensed. "What is your relationship to her? Are you really her husband? I don't see any wedding photos. And I checked the village records for marriage certificate and guess what? It wasn't there," she said with accusation.

"We weren't married in Konoha," he replied, still calm, but she could see from the narrowing of his eyes that he was holding back his irritation.

But this time she didn't care and she was not intending to back down.

"Then where?" she pressed on with another question.

"That's classified, " he said stiffly.

"Then what about my birth? Was I born in Konoha? Who was there when I was born?"

Sasuke shook his head. "What does it matter? You're here now."

"So you don't know this too? You weren't there, were you?" From his reaction she knew that she'd guessed it correctly. Sarada looked down at her feet, hiding the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes."Then how do you even know that she's really my mother?"

"Sarada..." her father started, but a frantic knocking on the door cut him off.

"Uchiha-san! Urgent summons! You need to go to the Hokage Tower!" a messenger yelled.

Sarada watched how her father hesitated. She also noted, somewhat bitterly, that he had a perfect excuse to leave without telling her anything. Like always.

"Go on. It's probably important," she said. _More important than me._

"The Hokage can wait," he replied. "Sarada, I have no doubt that Sakura is your mother..."

But she didn't get to learn what evidence he based this belief on, because the messenger called impatiently again.

"Uchiha-san! It's about your wife!"

Sasuke's whole demeanor changed. His posture sharpened in full alert and he strode to the door.

"I need to go. We'll talk later. Go get something to eat," he ordered as he slipped on his shoes.

"Yes, dad," Sarada replied drolly as she watched him go.

Then she made a mad dash to her room and jumped out of the window. If the Hokage had news about her mother, she sure as heck was going to be there, invited or not!

Sarada sped through the village, keeping to the shadows and taking as many shortcuts as she could. She still didn't graduate, so she wasn't allowed to take to the rooftops, but she was the fastest in her class so she made it to the Tower in a good time. She saw her father entering, waited a moment, catching her breath, then completely composed walked confidently inside. The way to the Hokage's office was well-known to her thanks to the visits first to Uncle Kakashi, then Uncle Naruto. For the same reason no one stopped her.

The young girl stealthily approached the door and leaned against it casually. Her right ear was pressed to the wooden, gleaming surface.

"She was alone?" Sarada caught her father's question.

"The sources say yes," The Seventh replied. "But you can't go there, Sasuke."

"And why is that? Maybe she left some clue. The nin-dogs know her scent."

"It's been two weeks since the sighting and several rains. There's no trace with which she can be tracked and you know it," Nara-san said lazily.

"Then why did you summon me?" Her father sounded frustrated.

"You know how my Tailed Beast Sage Mode has a huge chakra sensing range?" The Seventh asked.

There was no answer, but Sarada could imagine the others in the room nodding.

"I was just practicing this afternoon, when I sensed something unusual at the edges of my perception. To the north."

"The old Uchiha outpost," her father guessed.

"Yeah."

"Naruto, you said the chakra was unusual. Why?" Nara-san inquired.

"It was muted, like a distant echo, but I'm sure it was Uchiha." Sarada put a hand to her mouth to muffle a gasp. She didn't hear about any other Uchihas? She and her father were supposed to be the last of the clan!

"You mean... it was him?" Nara-san was resigned.

"Who else?"

"What a drag."

"Guys, concentrate. This is our chance to take him down and get back Sakura-chan."

Sarada pressed herself harder to the door, holding her breath in anticipation. Finally something about her mother! She had to hear every word.

"And what are you doing here?" someone behind her asked.

She jumped a bit from the scare and whirled around. "Uncle Kakashi!" she gasped. "I'm just waiting for my dad. We were supposed to go to dinner after his meeting," she quickly provided the ready-made excuse to cover up her spying.

Kakashi gave her a lazy once-over and she understood that he didn't believe her for a second.

"Alright, let's check it with Sasuke." He made to open the door, but Sarada put herself in his way.

"No!" she almost cried out. She lowered her volume only out of her good sense, so those inside the office wouldn't hear. "Please, Uncle, don't tell my dad I was here. He doesn't want me to know anything about my mother, but I have to know... I have to!" she explained herself. Her eyes were pleading with him.

Kakashi considered, but she was his favourite for a reason, and his gaze softened.

"Well, I suppose this can stay between us, right, Sarada-chan?" he said and patted her head affectionately. Sarada nodded vigorously. "Now, run along. You probably have to study for tomorrow and this old man is already late to the meeting. Shoo."

Sarada understood that he would know if she tried to eavesdrop again, so she thanked him and left. Even if Kakashi caught her, he had no idea that she'd already learned something important – the location.

The young girl returned home and went straight to her father's study to get a map. She heard about the Uchiha outpost from the old times when Konoha hadn't even been built, but she didn't know the way. Logically, her first priority was to get an accurate map.

Long ago she'd observed the secret way to open the drawers in her father's desk. Without a pause to consider the consequences of breaking into it, she applied her chakra to the right place and released the seal. As she was rifling through the papers looking for a map, she came across an innocuous brown folder. She wouldn't have taken interest in it if not for the name written on it in her father's crisp lettering.

Sakura.

The girl opened the folder and several photos slipped out. Only one of them was in colour and showed her mother in her early twenties. Others were grainy or unfocused or taken at a bad angle. All pictures had a date and place written on their back.

Sarada examined them curiously. The dates spanned the years since before her birth. The newest was on top of the pile and it was from two years ago in the Land of Wind. Sarada remembered that her father had an emergency mission there around the same time.

 _Could it be... all this time... Dad was looking for Mom?_

Sarada flipped to the last photo and stopped. It was taken at a poor angle, as if someone held the camera just above the ground – and it showed her mother walking around some village, accompanied by a strange man. Sarada wrinkled her brow as she tried to make sense of the picture – the figures were a bit distanced from the secret photographer. The man looked so much like her father that if not for the unusually long hair, she would have thought it was really him. And the man had his arm around her mother's waist.

 _It's him! He's the other Uchiha they talked about!_ Sarada realized.

She checked the back and the date was over twelve years old, from the time before her birth. But in the photo her mother wasn't even pregnant, at least she didn't look like it.

Sarada stared at the photo again, analyzing it. If it was taken before she was born, why her mother was with another man that looked so much like Dad? Why was he holding her so close? Sarada was once again struck by the intimacy of the man's gesture and the lack of any similar pictures of her parents. Honestly, her father didn't belong to the most affectionate people in the world on the best of days and she could hardly imagine him in the same position with anyone.

A bizarre thought entered her mind and even though she tried to dismiss it as too ludicrous, the more she regarded the picture, the more she was accepting of the possibility.

Was this man... her real father?

A loud noise in the street broke her out of the reverie and Sarada decided not to linger in the study anymore as she didn't know when Dad—Sasuke—would come back. She closed the folder and placed it back in the drawer, but on the impulse she kept the last picture. After this she quickly found the map of the Land of Fire. The outpost and several other places were marked on it with a pen. She rolled up the scroll and put it in her pocket along with the photo.

She returned everything to its exact place with an extra care and resealed the drawers. She didn't want her father to find anything was amiss as easily as he had noticed her messing with family pictures earlier.

When he didn't return for dinner, but instead sent a hawk with a short message that he was going on a mission, Sarada was ready to follow.

And to find out the truth, whatever it may be.

.

.

AN: This story idea has been on my mind ever since I read the manga about Sarada. My writing may be rusty, but I just have to get back into practice. Anyway, please let me know if you like and if I should continue.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 2**

 **.**

Growing up in Konoha helped Sarada navigate its confusing labyrinth of side streets and narrow passages with ease. Running down the main street straight to the gates was a bad idea as someone who knew her was bound to notice and stop her. Her schoolbag, instead of books, was filled with provisions, first aid kit and a change of clothes and her back pouch was bursting with weapons. That alone would raise some unwanted questions that she'd rather avoid. It was better to slip out of the village unnoticed than try to explain her decision to leave. They wouldn't let her go anyway.

The girl lowered into a crouch and peeked out of the corner of a building, only to glimpse her father and the Hokage talking to Uncle Kakashi and Nara-san just by the village entrance. She stared at them intensely, but they were too far away to hear what they were saying. It was all the better for her in the end, as they could have detected her presence if she came closer.

"Sarada? What are you hiding here for? Did you come to say bye to your dad?"

For the second time that day, someone managed to sneak behind her, but this time she knew exactly who it was and didn't hesitate. She quickly turned around and fell him with a low sweeping kick. Boruto landed hard on his behind with an indignant squeak.

"What's your prob-" he started to protest, but she was already onto him and covering his mouth with her hand.

"Shut up or they'll hear you," she hissed dangerously, her tone promising him a lot of pain if he didn't oblige. Her eyes were locked on the figures of the adults, tracking their movement.

Boruto got the picture and fell silent.

They observed the departure of both of their fathers. Nara-san and Uncle Kakashi went back in the direction of the Hokage tower too.

Sarada took her hand off Boruto's mouth, which might have been a mistake because he immediately started to talk.

"What was that? Why are we hiding here?" he asked with a scowl.

"None of your business."

"Oh no, it is so my business! You made me hide here when I was supposed to give my dad this lunchbox from my mom," he refuted, showing her the wrapped lunchbox.

Sarada dropped her gaze. "Sorry." She really felt bad about this.

"Eh, no matter. That doofus can survive without it." Boruto shrugged and got up from the ground. He dusted himself off and offered her a hand up, which she took. "You coming?" he asked, indicating the street.

Sarada didn't budge. "Where?"

"To my house. You're invited to stay until our dads come back from the mission."

When she'd been younger, she had stayed over with the Uzumaki family a lot. Her father didn't want to leave her alone at home when he was outside the village. Sarada didn't remember much but there had been a break-in at their house once. The criminal had planned to hurt her to take revenge on the Uchiha, but he hadn't been skilled enough to finish the job and he'd picked a wrong time. Her father had a very light sleep and no patience for fools like that. As far as she knew, the man was still in prison.

"I'm not going," Sarada said.

Boruto raised a brow. "Why?" he asked dubiously.

She considered what to tell him then decided on the truth. If he didn't like it, she could neutralize him and go regardless. "Because I'm going to follow my dad and the Seventh."

"Are you crazy? You're not even a ninja!" Boruto didn't hold back his incredulity. "Look, we both know they are the strongest shinobi in the world, so if they have to go somewhere on a mission, it's probably very important or very dangerous. You could get killed."

"I know," she replied simply. She clearly wasn't swayed by his reasoning.

Boruto frowned at her. "This isn't a game, Sarada. I may sound like Shikadai, but even I know when there's a real danger and I don't go around throwing myself into it without a reason."

His concern was touching, really, but also unnecessary. She was well aware of the risk and she was willing to take it anyway.

"I have a reason. I'm going to find my mom," Sarada told him.

"Your mom? That pink lady from my dad's team picture?" Boruto recalled.

Sarada glared at him. "Her name is Sakura. My dad and the Seventh went to see a man who knows where she is. And I'm going after them," she announced firmly, daring him to stop her with her eyes. Then she would just punch his lights out and be done with it.

But Boruto didn't try anything like that.

"Okay. I get it now," he said and slowly nodded. "Want some help?"

"What?" she asked, completely taken aback.

"Hey, this is your best chance to finally meet your mom, right? I would do the same if I was in your place. Moms... are really important, you know." Boruto smiled and scratched the back of his head to cover up his embarrassment.

"Boruto, you..." Sarada didn't finish the thought as she realized how much it made sense that he of all people would understand her reason for leaving and she just shook her head. Boruto, under all that bravado and troublemaking tendencies, was a real momma's boy. His biggest fear in life was disappointing Aunt Hinata.

"So... what's the plan?" the boy asked, snapping her back to the present.

"I need to distract the guards then I'll make a run for it. I was planning to set off explosive tags in a garbage can, but with your help this will be much easier."

Boruto puffed up his chest. "So you do acknowledge my ninja skills! Thanks, Sarada!"

"You're confusing ninja skills with your abnormal talent for causing trouble," she put him down out of reflex and adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. A cloud of gloom surrounded the boy.

Sarada crossed her arms and sighed. "Well, this ability will come in handy, so I'm not exactly complaining," she conceded just to cheer him up and it worked like a charm. The gloom dissipated.

Sarada explained her plan and they briefly discussed it. Then they looked at each other uncertainly, looking for something more to say.

"Uh... I guess I hope this plan works out and you will see your mom soon," Boruto said.

"Thanks."

"I better get going."

"Yeah." Sarada looked after him when a thought occurred to her and she jogged after him. "Boruto, wait!"

"What is it? Did you forget something?"

"Give me that lunchbox," she ordered and when he gave her a nonplussed look, she rushed to explain properly. "When I catch up to the Seventh, I'll give it to him for you. If he doesn't get it, your mom will be sad, right? So give it to me, I'll deliver it safely to his hands."

The boy regarded her with amazement and a big dose of gratitude.

"Wow, Sarada, I didn't think of that... Good idea. Thanks." Boruto handed her the lunchbox without complaint. She put it in her schoolbag.

"Okay, now you can go," she told him.

"Alright! Uzumaki Boruto is off to distract some chunin!" he announced proudly.

"Quiet, you idiot!" Sarada hissed.

"Sorry." Chastised, Boruto skulked off without any further ado.

Sarada waited for the sound of explosion. They modified her earlier plan with the explosive tags in the trash can. One of the guards went to investigate the disturbance, but the other stayed put. That's when Boruto came in, running with snot hanging from his nose (Sarada gave him points for attention to details in his acting). He was shouting about someone scary in the alleyway and insisted that the other guard should come look and that it would take only a moment. The chunin looked undecided, as the protocol prohibited both of the guards from leaving their post at the same time, but Boruto's fake crying was convincing enough to make him go check it out.

When he finally left, Sarada dashed through the gate and outside Konoha. She used the small window of opportunity to reach the tree line. Just as her back disappeared from view, the guard returned.

"I told you there was nothing there, kid. No scary people or monsters," he told Boruto, who kept up his act of a terrified Academy student.

"A-Are you absolutely sure? Because I really saw this giant snakey shadow creeping up on me, I swear!"

"I am sure it was only your imagination. You should stop watching scary movies," the exasperated chunin advised.

"Okay! Thanks, mister! I feel much better now. My mom is waiting with dinner so I really should go!" Boruto waved in goodbye and ran off.

"Take care, kid!" The guard waved back.

His partner came back from his investigation too, muttering about morons who throw out unused explosive tags into trash where they can spontaneously detonate and hurt someone. Both of the ninja were none the wiser about two Academy students (albeit exceptional ones) outwitting them so that one of them could run away from the village.

The lax state of Konoha's security, despite the peaceful times, was somewhat troubling. However, Sarada didn't concern herself with it. As she ran to the north, her thoughts were only consumed with her goal—the mysterious Uchiha and his connection with her mother.

Even though she knew she would get tired if she carried on with her furious pace, Sarada pushed herself onward. According to her calculations, Boruto would buy her at most few hours of a headstart before a search party was dispatched after her. On the other hand, if she caught up to her father too soon, he would send her back to Konoha with a clone. Ideally, she had to find the man from the picture right before or at the same time as her father and the Seventh.

Only a few times when she came upon crossroads, she stopped to consult her map and one time she took a ten minute break to munch on a sandwich and drink some water. The travel was getting harder as the road entered the range of hills leading to mountains on the border of the Land of Earth. The forest thinned, giving room to the shrubbery and the grassy plains.

The sun was setting and Sarada looked for a place to reorient herself before continuing. With her average speed she would need only a few more hours to reach the Uchiha outpost. Meanwhile, she took a detour to an abandoned watchtower. After a strenuous climb up the steep hill, her calves were burning, but she'd taken only a short breather before she forced herself to walk up the stairs to the top of the tall building. From the observation deck there she had a perfect view of the surrounding region, stretching from the remote but distinct shape of the Hokage monument all the way to the mountains in the north. She spotted several villages tucked in the hills, but not her destination.

Frustrated, Sarada took out the map again and found the position of the watchtower, then turned in the direction where the Uchiha outpost should be. She squinted her eyes to ward off the last rays of sunlight coming straight at her and she saw a darker outline of an ancient, half-demolished stone tower peeking out of the strip of forest in the distance. Without a doubt that was the place and she shivered in excitement at the visual confirmation. She was close!

The girl traced the road leading to the outpost with her eyes, committing it to the memory, then looked at the tower again. She wondered where her father and the Seventh were at this moment. She hoped they weren't already there.

A little dark dot leaped from the tower and soared into the reddish sky above. It flew in widening circles. Sarada thought it would be very convenient if she could just fly over there too.

A detonation went off at the bottom of the hill and a whole swarm of black birds blotted the sky as they flew up in panic. Sarada heard the muted cawing, but she paid it no mind, because she was already dashing down the stairs, jumping over two or three steps at once in her hurry.

If there was a battle at that outpost, then her father and the Seventh were definitely involved and she needed to come fast!

Sarada sprinted downhill, then ran on the main road, pumping chakra into her legs. She was running like never before, the wind whistling by her loudly and whipping at her hair and clothes. Nothing else mattered but getting there in time to see that other Uchiha... then he'd tell her where Mom was... and then she would finally know how it felt to...

Her eyes burned a little and everything seemed suddenly sharper and more vivid. That's why Sarada noticed a foreign chakra and was prepared to skid to a stop when a strange white-haired boy appeared in the middle of the road, blocking her way. He rose from the crouch and looked straight at her with Sharingan eyes. Sarada recoiled. Her mind was spinning with even more questions.

"Come with me..." the boy said.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Uchiha Shin."

Another new Uchiha no one told her about? Sarada was annoyed, but on the off chance that he might have some information she took out the picture of her mother and the long-haired man and showed it to Shin.

"Do you know them? This man is an Uchiha too. And the woman is my mother."

The boy recognized the man. "Uchiha... Madara..." he whispered reverently.

Finally she learned something relevant about the other Uchiha – his name! Sarada inwardly cheered and pressed on.

"So you know him. Then you know he's probably at the Uchiha outpost. I really need to talk to him, so let me through."

"He's... there? No..." Shin cocked his head, a bit like a bird, then repeated his demand. "Come with me to Father... or I will bring you back... by force!"

"No, _you_ will get out of my way or I will make you!" Sarada readied her shuriken, realizing that a fight was unavoidable at this point.

Then Shin unsealed a large shuriken attached to a chain and the rules of the game changed. The boy swung the heavy weapon at her and Sarada jumped out of the way, releasing a hail of small ninja stars at him. Shin defended with the chain and the weapons bounced off it harmlessly. Or that's what he was only supposed to think, because in reality they were strung on an extra thin wire that she was holding.

Sarada intended to attack him from the front and the back at the same time when Shin rushed at her, his eyes changing into a different shape. It distracted her and then she was stabbed in the back by four sharp blades that came off his large shuriken.

The young Uchiha fell on her knees with a cry of pain. Shin approached her and she gave him a resentful look, then flicked her wrist. Her shuriken pierced his limbs precisely, but the boy didn't react to the pain. He just walked on unperturbed until he stood looming over her defeated form.

"Now you will come with me," he said.

"No... Never," she panted out through gritted teeth. The pain was pretty bad and the back of her black shirt was getting slick with blood from her wounds, but Sarada was still looking for a way out.

A small blob-like creature with a Sharingan implanted into it landed in front of her, just by Shin's right foot.

"Well done, Shin," an adult voice came from the creature. "Even a real Uchiha was no match for your matured Sharingan. I'm taking you both back."

Sarada threw a shuriken that she had concealed in her palm at the blob, but it jumped back. Shin kicked her hand in retaliation and she fell to the side, barely managing to put an elbow under her body to prevent falling down on her back and aggravating her wounds. The movement still hurt like hell and she bit back a rising scream. It was turned into a pained grunt.

"Nice try, but you're out of tricks now," the voice said. "Shin, get her."

The boy grabbed her arm and Sarada struggled to pull out of his hold, but it was no use. She was weakened and hurting. His injuries didn't seem to bother him at all.

 _I wish Dad was here,_ she thought desperately. _If he knew I was here, he'd save me..._

A powerful blade stroke cleaved through Shin's body, from the right shoulder to the left hip. Sarada looked in shock as the blood gushed out of the horrible, fatal wound. The boy's eyes glazed over, red coming from his mouth as he gurgled and choked on his own blood. Then the curved blade pulled out easily and Shin's corpse thudded to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.

Sarada looked at him, dazed, and she concluded that's what he really was like – a broken doll. He didn't feel pain, but was still too fragile to survive a rough play. Just like the dolls she'd played ninja with when she'd been younger.

"Girl. Snap out of it," a commanding voice spoke to her from above.

She slowly looked up.

Before her stood the man from the picture, dressed in a dark cloak, a gunbai in one hand, and a bloodied kama in the other.

"Uchiha Madara..." the name came to her lips unbidden.

In the end, she didn't find him. He found her first.

.

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AN: Hello, my dear readers! I was floored by the amount of support this story got only after one chapter and I want to thank you all! It was really incredible to me. This gave me the confidence to continue, though most of the last week I spent on making a proper outline.

I hope you liked the chapter. I am taking some cues from Naruto Gaiden manga, but the story is going to be very different. I try to make logical changes that are caused by different circumstances in Sarada's life. For the record, I stopped watching Shippuden when Madara killed Naruto and Sasuke, I don't know what happened in the novels, Naruto the Last movie and Boruto movie. But I started watching Boruto anime. Anyway, I am basing this story on Kishimoto's manga. In time I might watch all these other things I missed.

I am curious if there are any fanartists among my readers who would be willing to design a new outfit for Madara? I think he deserves one for the new era and I didn't see anyone try this before.

From now on, the real Uchiha family drama begins! Please tell me what you think about the chapter :)


	3. Chapter 3

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 3**

 **.**

The man and the bleeding child stared at each other silently. Madara's face was impassive, giving no reaction to his name being spoken, as he inspected her with the inhuman Rinnegan, identical to the one her father had in his left eye. Sarada, on the other hand, couldn't hide the trembling, which wasn't caused by the blood loss as much as the oppressive presence of the man. His insanely powerful chakra saturated the air and weighed it down. It felt like a giant, heavy paw was pushing down on her, trying to smother her and she couldn't breathe... She literally forgot how to.

"Deactivate it," Madara said suddenly.

"W-Wha?" she gasped out, unable to form even such a simple word.

The man's lips thinned, as if he just realized her predicament, and the pressure eased. Sarada gratefully sucked in a huge breath into her deprived lungs. The air tasted coppery, but the oxygen made it sweet to her.

"Your Sharingan is still activated. The fight is over, so you can turn it off," Madara told her.

"Sharingan?" Sarada latched onto the least important thing in this situation. She reached into her pocket for a hand mirror, but she must have left it at home, so in the end she pulled out a kunai from her weapons pouch and checked her eyes in its reflective surface. They were red, one tomoe in each eye. The first stage. "I did it," she said, slightly surprised, but also pleased.

"Yes, you did," Madara said. He looked amused with her. "Now stop wasting your chakra and turn it off before you faint from chakra exhaustion."

Sarada gave him a look laced with suspicion. "I'm good. I have big chakra reserves." She wasn't letting down her guard around him. Her new Sharingan gave her an edge, no matter how small, in case he decided to attack.

"Hmph. Suit yourself," he didn't insist.

Madara reached into his pocket and she tensed, expecting a weapon, but it was only a scroll. He kneeled and unfurled it over Shin's body. With a bit of chakra, the corpse was sealed and Madara tucked the scroll back in its place.

Sarada preferred not to look down at Shin, so she took the opportunity to study Madara's features. He still looked disturbingly similar to her father, but from the close distance the few key differences became more apparent. His skin was a few shades darker and his eyes were a different shape, with pronounced lower eyelids.

 _He could be my real father,_ Sarada thought. Her pale skin tone and eye shape could as well be inherited from her mother, not Sasuke.

Calling the man she knew as her father all her life just by his first name made something in her chest squeeze painfully. Her fingers dug into her thigh as if the physical pain would chase away this bitter feeling.

"Girl."

Startled, she looked up. Without Shin's body acting as a barrier between them, Madara seemed now much closer.

"Turn around," he ordered when he got her attention.

"Why?"

"I don't expect you can heal yourself, can you? Or do you prefer to walk around with blades stuck in your back?"

Sarada glared at him, but she turned around obediently. Showing her back to the enemy was the last thing any competent shinobi would do, but... was Madara really an enemy? His sheer chakra presence was terrifying, but he'd curbed it down once he'd realized she'd been badly affected by it. He could kill her as easily as an ant whenever he wanted, but instead he'd saved her from a kidnapping and he'd given her a sound advice (which she still didn't follow).

A father would do these things for his child...

"I'm pulling them out, brace yourself," Madara warned.

Sarada clenched her teeth and concentrated on not screaming when he freed her back from the blades of Shin's large shuriken. They were deeply embedded and didn't want to come out at first, so he had to apply more force, causing her greater pain. By the end of the ordeal, Sarada's face was soaked with silent tears but she hadn't made a sound. She felt strangely proud of herself. Her first real battle injury, what would her father think? Would he be proud too?

"Take off your shirt, I need to see your wounds," Madara instructed.

Sarada tried to, but raising her arms hurt too much. "I can't," she gasped and let her arms fall down. She took in a ragged breath. "You have to cut it off," she said. Logically this was the only option. "Don't worry, I have clothes in my bag. Oh, and a first aid kit, too." She indicated to the side of the road where she'd thrown her belongings before engaging Shin in battle.

Madara held out his hand and, to Sarada's astonishment, the bag flew into his grasp. How did he do it? Was it a chakra thread? But she would have seen it with her Sharingan... Sarada pondered the mystery, then brightened up as she got it. Eyes! Of course, he had the Rinnegan! She knew about the legendary dojutsu's abilities only because her father possessed one such eye, but he almost never used it around her. There was simply no need outside of combat situations.

The bag was unzipped and Madara found the first aid kit. Then he took out scissors from it and cut the back of her black shirt. It was soaked with blood which haven't dried yet, so the fabric came off her skin with relative ease. Sarada suffered a flush of humiliation when she realized he could see the straps of her new bra which Aunt Ino had helped her buy. Thankfully, it didn't get in the way of treatment because he didn't mention anything.

The man put the pressure on her wounds until the bleeding stopped, then started cleaning them methodically. The quiet, but very potent presence behind her put the young kunoichi on the edge.

"How does it look? Am I going to die?" Sarada asked flippantly when she just couldn't take the silence anymore.

Madara snorted. "Girl, if you died from just a few measly stab wounds, the clan would have disowned you."

Despite the troubling way he phrased it, she understood that her injuries weren't so bad.

"Don't call me 'girl'. My name is Sarada," she told him.

"I am aware."

"You are?!" She looked over her shoulder so quickly that something cricked in her neck. "How do you know my name?"

"I like to keep an eye on all remaining family members."

"Funny, you've never sent us any holiday cards," she deadpanned.

She hissed when he poured the disinfectant on her wounds. It stung! She looked forward again.

"Do you know his name too?" she suddenly asked. "The boy you killed."

"No." This single word carried absolutely no emotion and it bothered her.

"He said he was Uchiha Shin. You didn't keep an eye on him before today?" There was no answer so she continued drilling. "He had Sharingan too, so that makes him part of the clan, but you still killed him. Now you're helping me. That's strange. What's the difference between me and Shin?"

"He wasn't an Uchiha. He was just an eye thief and I punished him accordingly," Madara explained without a hint of remorse.

"He was just a boy," Sarada insisted.

"A boy who stole Uchiha bloodline limit. He paid the price of his insolence."

"How do you know he stole it? Maybe he was a son of some hidden Uchiha," she argued.

"Highly unlikely. He looked more like another genetic experiment. Stay still."

Madara began dressing her wounds with a clean gauze and a tape.

"Well, if he was just an experiment, then he didn't steal anything. Someone else did and made him this way. Shin had no choice in this, so he wasn't at fault. You shouldn't have killed him." Sarada smirked, reveling in her triumph. She won the argument by using pure logic, against Uchiha Madara no less.

"Aren't you a clever girl?" he drawled and she got a bad feeling. "I shall take your advice. Next time I see someone with a Sharingan he shouldn't have, I'll just pluck his eyes out." He sounded like the idea of maiming people instead of killing them cheered him up. Sarada was familiar with black humour, but with her back to him she had no idea if he was serious about this or just pulling her leg.

 _He better be joking_ , she thought with a shudder.

"I'm finished," Madara said and passed her the bag. Sarada pulled out a fresh shirt, a blue one this time. It'd be a pain to put it on and she was already regretting not having any shirts with a front zipper. She carefully dressed, mindful of her wounds.

Madara stood up and started walking away. Sarada watched him go, expecting that he'd turn back and say something socially acceptable to her, like a goodbye, but... nothing.

He was leaving.

"Wait!" She jumped to her feet and ran after him. "Wait!"

"What is it, girl?" he asked when she evened her steps with his.

"There's something I have to ask you," she replied anxiously. She showed- no, she almost thrust the picture into his face. "Is that you?"

Madara barely glanced at it, before he gently pushed her hand down. "It appears so." He didn't exhibit any concern about the old photo and how she had it. Sarada wasn't discouraged.

"So you know the woman next to you? It's my mother."

"Yes, I know her."

Her heart was racing with excitement and a blossoming hope.

"Then can you tell me where she is? I left the village to find her. I've never met her, so this is really important." Sarada looked at him imploringly.

"It's important only to you. How do you know she wants to see you?" His sharp remark blindsided her and she floundered for a reasonable reply. Sarada hadn't considered things this way before. What did she know about her mother and her feelings about it? Nothing much. The woman had given birth to her and disappeared from her life. She'd never made contact. It was very possible she didn't want to see Sarada. The girl felt a hollow ache in her chest and a telling tightness behind her eyes.

No, she refused to believe this. Her father, even after all these years, was still looking for her mother. If she gave up now, everything she had done—eavesdropping on Hokage, breaking into her father's desk, leaving Konoha, fighting Shin—would be all for nothing. Sarada looked up at Madara fearlessly.

"I don't know what she wants. That's why I have to find her, so she can tell me herself," she said softly, but with a burning conviction.

He didn't contradict her this time and his gaze softened a smidgen. "You do resemble her."

"Can you tell me where she is?" Sarada asked again hopefully.

"No."

"But you know?"

He said nothing. Sarada bit her lip.

"Can you take me to her?" she ventured.

"Why should I?"

"I could help you with whatever you are doing around here," Sarada unexpectedly offered. "You're going to the Uchiha outpost, right? My fa-Sasuke and the Hokage went there too. It looked like they were fighting someone, unless it was you?" Madara shook his head. "Well, they thought they were going to fight you, so it means that someone else is behind all this. Someone with a Sharingan..." Sarada remembered something. "I saw a small creature with a Sharingan. It disappeared when Shin died, but it was used to relay someone's orders. This person could be involved with the illegal experiments on Shin."

Madara appraised her and Sarada instinctively straightened her back. She wanted to paint a picture of strength and confidence. She was the top of her class in the Academy and she believed she would be useful. _Come on, agree, please agree..._ she urged him mentally, like she was trying to cast a spell.

"Alright," he said and started walking again.

Sarada trotted after him. "Really? Are you sure I can come along?" she asked, peering up at him.

"You heard me," he said shortly. "Now, girl, here's your first test—can you hide your chakra?"

"Of course!" Sarada crossed her arms. It was a basic stealth skill and it was a bit insulting that he'd think she would be incapable of it.

"Your task is to meet me at the outpost without anyone seeing or sensing you. That includes your Hokage."

A flash of hesitancy passed through her face but she nodded. She'd already disobeyed the authority when she'd left the village without permission, so hiding from Uncle Naruto and her father shouldn't be a problem. If she notified them about Madara, they would fight him and she would just lose her best chance at finding her mother.

"Good. You should run now. He'll be coming this way soon," Madara told her and leapt up into the trees.

Sarada was going to follow, but something niggled at the back of her mind. Something very important that she was supposed to do.

It didn't take long and after she was done, she ran into the forest.

.

Sasuke pulled his katana out of Naruto's stomach with more viciousness than he should. Nothing so far was going according to the plan. They went to the Uchiha outpost to corner Madara and beat out of him the location where he kept Sakura, but instead of finding him they were ambushed by a freak with implanted Sharingan in place of freckles, most definitely a former experiment. They evaded the initial explosion and engaged him in a high speed exchange of attacks. The battle was fierce as the man proved very skillful in using his stolen eyes both for offense and defense. Finally, he managed to pull off a surprise attack by marking Sasuke's sword with a seal, which allowed him to unexpectedly impale Naruto.

"Can you heal that?" Sasuke asked tersely, not taking his eyes off the enemy, who strangely wasn't making a move.

"Yeah, Kurama's working on it," Naruto replied.

A blob-like creature materialized next to the man. It was implanted with a Mangekyo too.

"What is that?" Naruto wondered loudly.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. If this thing could use space-time ninjutsu, it was a perfect means of escape.

The stranger talked quietly with his pet, then addressed Naruto and Sasuke.

"The plan has changed. He's coming, so I have to go."

"What are you talking about?!" Naruto yelled. "You're not going anywhere until you tell us who you are and what you were doing here!"

"My name's Uchiha Shin. As for my purpose – I have only one. The revival of the Akatsuki." The creature activated the technique and the man was becoming erased from the place in a swirl of chakra. "Next time, I will take my revenge on you, Uchiha Sasuke," he issued one last threat before disappearing.

Naruto cursed out loud, while Sasuke dissected Shin's words. He left because someone was coming, but who?

"Use your Sage mode and try sensing anyone nearby," Sasuke ordered.

"You think Shin's hiding?"

"No, but someone scared him away."

Naruto understood right away. "Madara?"

"Just check it," Sasuke said impatiently.

The Hokage nodded, sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to concentrate on the natural chakra surrounding them, while the Kyuubi continued healing his wound.

A toad popped into existence on the top of his head and jumped down on his lap, croaking.

"Gah! Gamatetsu?" Naruto regarded his summon with surprise. "Did something happen?"

The little toad was a courier designated to bring him messages from the village when he was away. It croaked in the affirmative and opened its mouth. Its long tongue was wrapped around a thin scroll which was then dropped into Naruto's hand.

The Hokage unrolled the scroll. "It's from Hinata..." he mumbled, as he scanned the text. "Oh damn, not again... Sasuke, we have a problem! Sarada ran away from the village!"

"... When?" Sasuke asked.

"Right after we left. Boruto was covering for her, that brat."

"Get up." Sasuke didn't waste breath on his old teammate – Naruto knew what to do. The Uchiha took off at once, speeding the same way they'd come from. He knew his daughter, she was a smart kid and wouldn't just run off randomly—she was obviously tailing them.

Sasuke pumped chakra into his legs, all the while clamping down on the frustration that mounted up inside him. The outpost was a dead end, abandoned and ransacked decades ago. It held no clues to Sakura's whereabouts. Instead of Madara they encountered this Shin, which was an entirely different matter to deal with.

Now it was imperative to find Sarada before she ran into any serious trouble. If anything happened to her... Sasuke increased his pace.

Naruto caught up to him, but kept unusually quiet. He was worried about Sarada too. Sasuke would never say it, but he was grateful for these moments of understanding between them.

"Sasuke, look!" Naruto exclaimed and they came to a stop.

"I see it."

His Sharingan took in every detail of the scene with clarity. Scuff marks on the ground, shuriken and metal shards laying in the dirt, blood dried on the sharp edges – someone fought here recently. But these signs only hovered in the periphery of Sasuke's vision. His gaze was riveted to a pool of rusty liquid and a tattered, black rag beside it. He picked it up gingerly.

His breath caught when he saw the cut up, but still recognizable Uchiha crest on the material. It was a shirt. Sarada's destroyed shirt, soaked in blood.

"My lunchbox?" Naruto said in surprise as he found the orange-wrapped lunchbox with Uzumaki spiral standing on a stone on the edge of the road. "But Boruto's back in the village..."

"Sarada brought it," Sasuke immediately concluded, turning to him. He couldn't look at the blood on the ground anymore, knowing that it could be his daughter's.

"I am kind of hungry..." Naruto unpacked the box and a piece of paper fell out. He was fast enough to grab it in the air. He opened the note and read aloud. "Dear Uncle Naruto, it's my fault that Boruto didn't bring you your lunch on time. Please don't be angry at him. He only helped me, so I offered to deliver this lunch in his stead. Right now, I'm going away to find my mother and bring her back. Please tell my father not to worry and that I'm fine. Love, Sarada." Naruto shook his head at the girl's audacity. She was a real piece of work. Kind of like Sasuke. "See, she's fine," he said, throwing the note to his incensed teammate.

"She was injured, you idiot. She may be in shock." Sasuke glared at him. His fingers clenched on the paper, crinkling it. He forcibly relaxed them, folded the note and stuffed it in a pocket.

"She's a tough kid. You were the same at that age," Naruto observed carelessly, then paled. "On the other hand, that's not very reassuring." He obviously recalled all the times Sasuke was beaten up and still kept going, pretending to be fine. "We've got to find her."

"You think?" Sasuke shot sarcastically. He bit his thumb and summoned a small green snake. It hissed a question. Sasuke gave it the torn shirt to smell. "Can you track this scent?"

"Of courssse," the snake replied, wrapping itself around his forearm and sniffing around before picking the direction. It flicked its tongue. "Thisss way."

Sasuke and Naruto took off in pursuit.

.

.

AN: Hello, dear readers! I hope you liked the chapter.

Those of you who visit my tumblr already know that last week there was an unpleasant incident - someone posted a plagiarism of one of my stories. Thankfully I saw it and the stolen story was taken down. I mention this because next time something like this happens, I may not be aware and I'd like it if people reacted. Plagiarism should never be allowed in fandom as it's extremely damaging to creators. All I get for writing is my readers' thanks, if even that is taken away, what's the point of creating anything?

Back to the chapter, I am interested how you liked Madara? I tried to keep him in character but show that he was changed. I have a whole list of reasons why he's acting this way, some of them will come out in the future :) Writing Sasuke's POV was fun too.

Please tell me what you think about the chapter :)


	4. Chapter 4

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 4**

 **.**

When one had a good enough grasp on their chakra, hiding it wasn't too difficult. Some people could even manage it without any prior training. Sarada had picked up the skill very quickly, taking to heart the lesson that a good ninja was the one who remained in the shadows until it was a time to strike.

No, hiding her chakra was not hard. Hiding it while running at the same time was.

Sarada wove her way through the woods, concentrated on lowering her chakra. She was taking a roundabout, scenic route across the hills since she couldn't take the road. It was slowing her down, but if her father and Uncle Naruto guessed that she was going to the Uchiha outpost, they would just wait for her there and she'd fail her mission. So the first order of business was to throw them off her real objective.

The ground under her feet was treacherous—uneven on the slopes, riddled with gnarled tree roots that threatened to trip her if she didn't watch out for them. The trees weren't as lush as those in Konoha and provided lesser coverage. Sarada climbed a sturdy maple tree and surveyed the skies above her for her father's scout hawk. To her relief there was no sign of it and the only birds she recognized were a couple of common thrushes.

The sun was getting lower on the horizon. Sarada jumped down from her branch and pressed on. She wanted to get there before dark.

The young girl backtracked to create a false lead for her pursuers and changed her direction, going downhill. She planned to cross the road and go for the outpost from the other side.

"SAAA-RAAA-DAAA!"

The loud yell boomed through the surrounding area, startling the birds off their perches and into the sky. Sarada jumped up in fright too. It was her uncle's voice! They were getting close!

The girl hid behind a wide tree trunk and suppressed her chakra to a small wisp similar to a candle light. How did they find her so fast? More importantly, how could she shake them off?

A memory came to her...

 _A six-year-old Sarada was alone on a playground. Her hair was wild and mussed and the nice blue shirt she'd put on in the morning was dirty and ripped. Her shorts didn't fare any better as they had grass stains._

 _The girl was sitting on a swing and staring at her feet. Her toes were digging through the sand._

" _Sarada."_

 _Her head shot up. "Papa!" In a blur, she jumped off the swing and darted to him. She hugged his knees hard. "You're back!" She was ecstatic. When her Papa was on a mission, she had to stay over at Uncle Naruto's house. Aunt Hinata was supposed to come pick her up from the playground, but instead Papa was there! "Are we going home?" Sarada asked hopefully._

" _Aa," Papa replied with a small smile and put a hand on the top of her head. He picked a small leaf from between the wild locks and smoothed them out._

" _Will we have dango?" she asked slyly. His return from the mission was a cause for celebration. Usually her Papa was very strict about sweets. He only allowed them on special occasions like birthdays or holidays._

" _We'll see." To her this was as good as a 'yes'._

 _Sarada slipped her hand into his and pulled him along. "Come on, let's go home!"_

" _Wait, Sarada. Why are you all dirty?"_

 _The girl looked at herself self-consciously. Her hands went to sweep off the dirt from her clothes. "I was playing hide and seek with others. There was this boy. Only he could find me when I was hiding. It was really annoying. No matter where I hid, he still found me!" she griped. "I can't think of anything to beat him. And I was the best at hide and seek before he came!"_

" _Did he have any facial markings?"_

" _Papa, how did you know?" She regarded him with wide eyes. Her Papa was so smart! "He had red markings under his eyes."_

" _So he is probably Inuzuka. Their clan specializes in tracking. He used his advanced sense of smell to find you."_

" _He smelled me?" Sarada scrunched her nose. Papa tweaked it and she pouted, swatting at his hand._

" _Papa, how do I beat him?" she asked seriously. "I don't want to lose to him anymore."_

" _There are many ways. You can neutralize his sense of smell with spreading a strong scent. You can also..._

"... hide my scent," Sarada whispered. She stood up and without caring about misleading her pursuers, she made a beeline for the river in the valley between the hills.

The clear water was bubbling, but she could see the riverbed. It wasn't very deep and Sarada knew how to swim. She took off her sandals and submerged her toes which she just as quickly pulled out because of the ice cold water.

"Saa-raa-daa! Cooome! Baaaack!" Uncle Naruto was still yelling in the distance.

Would going for a swim be enough? It only occurred to her now that all this time she, an Academy student, was playing hide and seek with two S-class ninjas who also knew her very well. She needed an ace in the hole to succeed in fooling them, something they wouldn't be prepared for.

She'd seen just the technique. Boruto performed it a few times in class. His boasting had made her almost try it out, just to wipe off that smug look off his face, but Shino-sensei had forbidden it. Well, he wasn't around now and she's become a lot stronger since that time. Sarada put her fingers in a cross seal and focused on forming her chakra.

A poof... and nothing happened. She gave it too little juice!

Sarada gritted her teeth and tried again. Without realizing, she activated her Sharingan to aid her in figuring out the chakra input. She tried again, pouring all she had into the technique.

A perfect copy of herself appeared in a cloud of smoke.

With a small triumphant grin, Sarada leaned down and put her hands on her knees, feeling the drain on her reserves. She made a waving gesture. "Go the other way."

The shadow clone nodded and took off.

Sarada put her sandals in the bag, which she tied on top of her head, then she waded into the river. When she was deep enough she swam the crawl. In the beginning she used chakra to keep her glasses in place, but the splashing water forced her to put them in a pocket so she could see where she was going.

When she reached the other side of the river, she crawled out of the water, ignoring the rocks digging into her unprotected hands and knees. She was panting with the effort and would gladly just lay down and rest, but she had no time to dawdle. Sarada rose on shaky legs, muscles trembling from the tiredness and cold. She wiped her glasses and put them on, then she donned her sandals with fumbling fingers.

The girl marched on, hoping that she'd warm up from moving, but with the shadows getting darker the temperature in the woods dropped. Chilly breeze blew at the wet clothes on her back and elicited a full-body shiver. Sarada leaned against a tree and briefly slipped into a daydream about a large, crackling bonfire that she could make with just a bit of her chakra. She'd just sit next to the fire and soak in the warmth...

Sarada shook her head and reminded herself to stay on the objective. First, she'd get to the outpost. There would be a time and place for a bonfire later, she promised herself.

She looked around and realized that in her haze she got lost. It was already too dark to see which direction she should take and she glanced up at the tree in despair. She was sure that if she tried climbing it, she would fall off and break her neck. Her chakra was so pathetically low that she didn't bother hiding it anymore.

A loud caw startled her. Sarada whipped around, hand going automatically for a kunai, then marginally relaxed as she spotted a black bird on a low branch. It stood out like a darker stain on the overwhelming greyness beneath the canopy. She eyed the crow curiously and it seemed to look back at her. She grew unnerved by its unnatural stillness.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

The bird didn't react. It just stared at her eerily without a blink.

"What are you looking at?! You've never seen a lost girl in a forest?! Stupid bird! Just go away!" Sarada shook her hand angrily to scare it away.

The crow flew off the branch, but instead of leaving, it circled over her head. Sarada put up her hands defensively. These claws and the beak looked sharp!

"I told you to go away!" she cried out.

With a flap of wings, the crow flew at her. Sarada closed her eyes, preparing for an attack, but the bird just passed by her shoulder. The ends of the soft feathers brushed her cheek.

Dumbfounded, Sarada watched after it, her arms relaxing and falling to her sides. The bird disappeared from sight in the forest's shadows, then unexpectedly returned. It circled her again and gave a short caw, before taking off in the same direction as before.

"Do you... want me to follow?" the girl asked.

The next caw sounded like an affirmative.

Sarada was wet, cold and tired and she had no clue where she was. Following a strange bird wasn't going to make things any worse for her and she ran out of any better ideas.

"Hey! Wait up!" she shouted and ran after the bird, desperate not to lose it from her sight.

She activated the Sharingan. It didn't give her night vision and put a steady drain on her chakra, but she wasn't about to underestimate potential threats in the forest. Her bloodline limit would alert her of foreign chakra and hostile presences ahead of time. It also helped her avoid tripping over some roots a few times. It was really amazing how it shortened her reaction time.

The girl burst into a clearing and came to a halt as she saw the crow sitting on a tall rock there.

"Why did you stop?" she asked, looking around. This place on the hillside was a good vantage point. She quickly found out that she was closer to the outpost than she thought. Just a final stretch of the forest and she'd reach it.

She turned to the bird, amazed that it actually helped her, but it was already gone. After hearing the fluttering of wings, she tilted her head up to see the crow flying away, towards the outpost where it joined its brethren. She lost sight of it in the flock of birds.

Sarada made a step to continue when a terrible pain burst under her skull. She grabbed her head with a scream and staggered. The pain faded as fast as it appeared and she was flooded with images and thoughts.

She was running away from the river. She tore off pieces of her shirt and tied them to small animals that she had ensnared with the aid of Sharingan. That would confuse her father's tracker. She was going back, towards the watchtower, watching out for Uncle Naruto's clones that were scouring the area. Uncle's clone jumped in front of her, scaring her half to death (how was he so noiseless all of a sudden?!) but she took it down with a kunai and bolted. The original got in her way, _don't run, Sarada, your dad's worried, we will find your mom together, I swear on my hat!_ , she fended him off with her shurikenjutsu and made a break for it again.

 _Sarada!_ Dad sprang out of nowhere, blocked her way and she barreled straight into his outstretched arms. For a split second she felt his embrace, met his eyes, red and purple, as they widened in realization...

Sarada took in a shaky breath and straightened out as her mind quickly sorted through the double's memories. So her clone popped when it ran into her father. It was low on chakra, so the impact was enough to destroy it. Still, she was pleased that it managed to draw her father and Uncle Naruto this far away from her.

The girl hurried forward, burning out the dregs of her chakra to speed up. She didn't know how long she had until they found her again, so every second counted.

Out of breath, she almost collapsed at the outpost's entrance, but she caught herself against the door frame. Panting, she shuffled inside the pitch black room and groped the wall for a light switch. Her hand met only a smooth stone.

Sarada opened her bag and felt around inside it. She pulled out a flashlight, inwardly cheering for her good preparation, then flicked it on. Nothing happened. She tried again—with no result. She hit it a few times, but it didn't help either.

Her face fell. The battery was probably used up and she hadn't packed a spare. So much for good preparation.

Sarada returned outside to get a suitable stick. She wrapped the end of it with some bandages and lit the makeshift torch with a breath of flame. Basic fire manipulation. She could do it in her sleep.

With a source of light grasped in one hand and a kunai in the other, she inspected the room. It was empty, apart from some debris laying around. There were two exits at the back of the room, however the one on the left was blocked with rocks from a collapsed ceiling. Sarada went through the unobstructed exit and wandered through the abandoned corridors. She found nothing of interest in the rooms, just some rotting remains of what once had been furniture. Thankfully there were no human corpses, though she spotted a mouse's skeleton in a corner of one room.

Sarada noticed how creepily silent it was in the ruins. Her every step reverberated through the halls like a drum. Anyone would hear her making all that noise just by walking, but no one came. Her expression turned grim as she contemplated Madara's suspicious absence. Had he sent her here just to ditch her? Was he going back on his word?

The torch was on the verge of burning out, so she jogged back to the entrance room. She spared a look at the blocked exit and turned to walk by the wall away from it. Suddenly it struck her as strange. Why didn't she just go in a straight line to the doorway?

It was as if there was something subtly repelling about that other exit.

Sarada went back, purposely heading for the left portal. On the way, her legs took her to the right without a conscious decision on her part. This meant only one thing.

The girl activated the Sharingan and saw right through the illusion. There were no rocks blocking that exit, just a closed door, but it easily opened when she pushed it. This time, she crossed the threshold without a problem.

"Took you long enough."

Three small fireballs flew across the room and ignited the torches on the walls. Madara was sitting comfortably on a throne-like chair, with an elbow on the armrest and a palm supporting his cheek. Sarada was surprised to see that not only this room possessed an undecayed piece of furniture, but also was remarkably clean of the debris and filth she'd found everywhere else in the ruins. She glanced curiously at the empty bookshelves and weapon racks.

"What is this place?" she asked.

"It's a secret Uchiha vault. After the clan's massacre it fell into disuse, but now it's mine."

Sarada knew about the massacre, though only the bare bones. Her father didn't like talking about it just as much as about Mom.

"If it's a vault, why is there nothing here?" she inquired.

"That's because the eye thief was here."

"Shin? He robbed you?"

"Only someone in the possession of the Sharingan or a skilled genjutsu user could have gotten past the illusion guarding the entrance."

Sarada nodded. "So most probably it's Shin or his master that did this. Did you lose anything important?"

"Just some old knick-knacks." Madara didn't take the bait to spill what exactly he'd hidden here. She'd bet a year's allowance it was something valuable and potentially dangerous.

"Did you know about the break-in?"

Madara pointed at something behind her. Sarada turned around. Above the doorway she spotted a small sigil, but the Sharingan noticed the chakra coming out of it in threads, most of them concentrated around the door, some buried in the floor.

"A seal... Like a burglar alarm?" She turned back to Madara who nodded.

"I knew as soon as he stepped a foot in here."

"You didn't have any other traps to stop the thief?"

"I did. And they were all activated."

Sarada wrinkled her brow as her mind sluggishly worked through the implications. Then she shook her head. What did she care if Madara was robbed? She had a different business with him.

"Let's just get out of here. You promised to take me to my mother, remember?"

"And you promised me your help, too," Madara countered.

"I can help you outside," she said firmly. In reality all she wanted was to curl up in her bed and sleep for a year, which was impossible at the moment, but getting out of the ruins was the first step.

Madara's gaze swept over her, the Rinnegan boring into her and she shifted uncomfortably under the weight of his gaze. He must have seen how exhausted she truly was. Sarada set her jaw, willing her body to stay upright. She was worried he might just leave her if she became too weak to move.

"Fifth shelf on your right," he told her and she looked there obediently. It was just as barren as all the other shelves. "Seventh stone to the left," he added.

Sarada squinted at the stone in the wall in puzzlement, then flickered her Sharingan on. No genjutsu or chakra traces. She walked up to it. It still looked the same, so she hesitantly touched it. The surface was cold and smooth. She lightly traced the edges, then pushed and felt it give in a bit. She put more force into it and the stone sank in the wall for two centimeters. At the same time, the wall behind the bookshelf swung open, revealing a secret passage.

She looked back at Madara with a raised brow. "Where does it go?"

"Outside," he replied and stood up.

Sarada felt a wave of annoyance at his very non-specific answer. She swiped a lit torch from the handle in the wall and headed for the opening.

"Are you coming?" she asked impatiently, looking back at him when he didn't move to follow.

"In a minute. Go ahead."

Sarada saw him flashing through the handseals. So he was casting some sort of a technique. Another genjutsu? No matter. She turned her back to him and descended into the passage.

It was going downward and winded regularly, similar to some staircases. On one hand she was grateful that it didn't go up, but on the other hand she had to watch her step so she wouldn't tumble down. The musty underground air was choking her and the fatigue was setting in and dragging her down. She just wanted to get out of there soon. Running was out of the question, but she lengthened her stride.

"You're too slow." Suddenly, Madara was beside her, finished with whatever he was doing up there.

Sarada scowled at him. "I'm just careful."

"Hurry it up then, I don't have all day." He pushed ahead, showing her his back.

She gritted her teeth and ran after him, soon achieving a break neck pace. It was almost like flying... and potentially deadly as at every turnaround of the passage she had to precisely push herself off the wall. It jarred her wrists, but at least she didn't splatter herself on the stone like some giant mosquito.

Sarada pumped more chakra into her legs when she saw the lighter outline of a door. Finally! She ran out and fell on her knees, panting harshly.

"So you decided to join me for the fireworks?" Madara was standing just a few steps away.

"What?" she gasped out.

He pointed up. Sarada saw the outpost through the trees and two familiar figures approaching it fast, visible thanks to the warm yellow glow of her Uncle's Kyuubi cloak. They went inside...

The large explosion shook the world around her. Sarada clutched at her ears, watching in utter horror as the rocketing flames consumed the outpost. She barely noticed the blue giant hand shielding her and Madara from the flying rubble.

 _Dad... Uncle Naruto..._

They were inside.

They were _inside_.

"What have you done?!" she screamed at Madara through the tears.

"I got rid of your tail. Now they won't follow us," he replied without a care that he just... he just...

Sarada threw herself at him with a furious scream, Sharingan blazing. Madara dodged her punches with minimal effort, which only spurned her on.

"What's the matter? I thought you wanted to see your mother," he asked.

"You didn't have to do this! You monster!"

"Monster? You need to work on your insults," he advised, slapping away her next barrage of attacks. "Besides, Naruto and Sasuke were stupid enough to walk into a trap all by themselves. Blame them for their lack of caution. What a rookie mistake."

"You... you..." Sarada jumped back and formed the seals. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" The giant fireball, bigger than a standing man, flew right at the older Uchiha.

Madara calmly took the gunbai off his back and with one swift swipe dispersed the flames.

Her energy died out just as abruptly as her fire. Sarada swayed and fell on her side, succumbing to numbness in her overworked body. She'd used up all her reserves to pull off that final technique. Her eyes turned black again and she was still crying.

"Why?" she murmured, barely moving her lips.

Why, indeed? Why only now, after losing Dad, did she realize that only he could be her real father? Even if by some cruel twist of fate Madara was her father, she'd never accept him. He was truly a monster.

She watched Madara come for her, wondering how he'd kill her. A blade through the torso, like Shin? A fireball, just to return the favour?

She wanted to close her eyes at first, but that would be cowardly, so she kept them open, glaring at the man. But everything was getting blurry so fast. She couldn't fend off the encroaching darkness.

The last muted sensation she had was of being scooped up and carried away. Then she blacked out.

.

.

AN: Sorry about any mistakes, I hope there aren't any too bad. There will be grammar revisions.

I honestly didn't plan to end the chapter like this, it just wrote itself that way.

Please tell me what you think about the chapter! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 5**

 **.**

Madara walked up the ancient stone steps leading to a shrine. The place was standing abandoned for decades, no more loyal worshippers came to prostrate before their gods, no more priests burned incense before the majestic altar. Maybe the Uchiha symbol etched on the gate had something to do with it. Madara didn't concern himself with his clan's failings. All that mattered was that they left behind something of use to him.

The powerful shinobi glanced down at the young girl he was carrying. Her chakra levels were still dangerously low and she didn't stir even once during their journey. Her wheezing breath and sickly redness in the cheeks caused some worry, but not enough to propel him into a run. Her Uchiha blood was strong, already manifesting in the Sharingan, though her lack of training in its use was apparent. Madara wondered why Sasuke held back the girl's training. She was already genin age after all.

Ah, no matter. Everything can be corrected.

Madara reached the top of the stairs and went to the back of the shrine where a sprawling old style house resided. It had been once inhabited by priests, their families and disciples. Now it was his home.

The shinobi felt the security seals pulse in acknowledgment as they detected his chakra. The traps remained inactive and the genjutsu fell away like a water curtain, letting him through. Madara took off his shoes in the entrance and deactivated the Rinnegan. Then he headed straight for the lab.

She was bent over the table, going over some notes, pink hair pulled up in a sensible bun and uncovering a graceful neck. Madara allowed himself a small indulgence of looking her over from the top of her head, down the curve of her spine, to the round small rear and long slim legs, bare under the short skirt she wore.

"You're already back? That was quick," she said without turning around.

"Sakura," he said, fighting off the irritation. "I have a patient for you."

"A patient?" Finally, she turned to him. Her beautiful green eyes widened as she took in the small unconscious girl he held in his arms. "I-Is that...?" She made a step forward and he could easily pick apart the emotions on her usually reserved face—hopefulness mixed with doubt and fear. He hadn't seen her so out of control in years and it brought a pang of regret. How much being with him had changed her... He squashed the sentimental feeling. Some change was necessary and he would never apologize for it.

"She was injured and depleted her chakra," he informed Sakura. He didn't need to say who the girl was—Sakura already knew. She put a hand glowing with green medical chakra on the girl's forehead and gasped.

"She's burning up! Bring her to the guest room, I'll be right away," she ordered and went to the cabinet to gather medicine.

Madara carried the girl to the empty bedroom which they kept just in case someone visited. It was ironic that their first real guest would be actually a family member. He laid the girl in the bed and took off her sandals.

Sakura came in armed with a bassinet of water, bandages and bottles of pills, most of them manufactured by her own hand. They could have bought medicine, but she preferred to make her own.

She got to work and Madara took up a silent vigil by the window, observing her every move. She was calm and concentrated on the task at hand, eyes hard with resolve as she healed the girl—but he could tell that she hid her inner turmoil behind the professional exterior. It was the only thing that kept her from falling apart.

When Sakura's hand rested over the girl's eyes, soothing the inflamed nerves with medical chakra, a small groan slipped from the child's lips.

"M... Ma-ma...?" she asked, reaching out blindly.

Sakura's breath hitched and she grasped the girl's hand.

"Shhh, everything's going to be fine," she said in a quiet tone and swept a disobedient lock of black hair out of the girl's face with unspeakable tenderness.

The child murmured something unintelligible and fell asleep, holding her mother's hand. Sakura slipped out of the grip gently, putting the girl's outstretched hand on the blanket.

Sakura administered the medicine and tucked the girl in. Then she slowly got up and gave Madara a hard stare, pinning him in place as she came closer.

"Madara," she uttered his name, low and threatening. She was pissed. A hand thumped on the wall right next to his left ear. "What. Is she doing. Here?"

 _._

 _Sarada was back in the forest. Before her eyes, Dad and Uncle ran towards the outpost, oblivious to the danger. With a desperate shout, she lunged forward, to reach them before it was too late, but an arm caught her around the middle and pulled her back._

" _It's no use, girl. Just watch the fireworks," Madara said into her ear._

" _No! Let me go!"_

 _Sarada clawed at his arm, kicked out and struggled, but his grip was like a steel band. She couldn't remove it no matter how much she tried. She could only watch in despair as her father and uncle neared the outpost. She was screaming at the top of her lungs to warn them, to stop them from coming inside, but they didn't hear anything. They charged inside and the explosion swallowed them up._

 _The girl sagged in the hold, shaking uncontrollably as her tears overflowed._

" _Why are you crying?" Madara asked._

" _D-Dad and Uncle... are d-dead and you ask me... that?" she replied through her sobs._

" _But Sasuke wasn't even your real father. And Naruto wasn't your real uncle. Only blood matters. Real family shares the same blood. Just look."_

 _Madara turned her around and showed her two half-scorched, mangled bodies. Only their faces were intact, allowing her to recognize them. Madara took out his kama and slashed the corpses in half, spilling black liquid that was too thick to be blood. Some of it splashed on her cheek. Sarada wiped it off and stared at the substance coating her fingers in rising horror._

" _See? Their blood is dirty. They can't be related to you."_

" _No..." she let out a broken protest._

" _Crying for these strangers again? You should be happy to be free of their burden. They were keeping you from your real family. That's why you led them to their deaths."_

" _What?" She snapped her gaze up._

" _You wanted them dead. They lied to you about your mother, about everything, so you killed them."_

" _I didn't!"_

" _Then where are your explosive tags?" Madara asked and she quickly checked her pouch. There were none, she realized with a plummeting feeling in her stomach. "You planted them in the ruins and led Naruto and Sasuke there. Good plan for a first assassination. You'll be a splendid ninja."_

" _No! I didn't do it! I didn't kill them!" she shouted in denial. She looked down over her hands smeared with blood and black gunk._

 _Madara took her hand and put a kunai in her palm. "Carve out their eyes. This is your task as an Uchiha. You need to protect the Sharingan."_

 _Like a zombie, she strode to the undamaged faces and kneeled in the bloody mud. She pulled apart Sasuke's eyelids. Dead Sharingan stared accusatorily at her. She raised the kunai with a shaking hand. She didn't want to do this but she lost control over her limbs._

" _No! Stop it, I can't!" she begged, trashing her head left and right as the kunai lowered..._

Her eyes snapped open and she saw Madara leaning too close for comfort.

"You!" Her hand shot out towards his face in a defensive strike. He caught her wrist, stopping her nails a hairsbreadth from touching his skin. His surprised black eye, not covered by the long fringe, clashed with her terrified Sharingan. The sound of her panting filled the unfamiliar room. Sarada took a moment to gather her bearings and realized that she was in a bed. At first she glared at Madara distrustfully, but quickly noticed that there was something different about him. He'd changed into a black kimono shirt and shorts, but also he seemed... younger?

"You're not Madara," she rasped out tentatively.

"No," he replied, shaking his head, then let go of her arm, after making sure she wasn't going to attack again. She put it down and eyed him curiously. He looked like Madara, but his face was rounder and softer and he had short, spiky black hair. His visible eye was differently shaped too, without droopy lower lid.

"Then..." she tried to speak, but her throat itched so badly that she erupted into a dry cough.

"Here, drink." A glass of water was pressed into her hand and Sarada gratefully drank it in a few gulps, feeling the cool liquid soothe the scratchiness.

"Thanks," she murmured.

The boy took the empty glass from her and looked at her critically. "You should turn them off," he said.

"What?" she asked, startled. She'd heard this before...

"The eyes." The boy pointed at his own to make a point. "Don't use the Sharingan when you're still recovering. They need rest."

"Oh..." Sarada frowned. She didn't realize they activated, but without her glasses, the Sharingan gave her perfect vision. Using it was like an instinct.

She looked at the boy again. She didn't know him and so, didn't trust him. He looked like another Uchiha and honestly, at this point, after running into Madara and then Shin, she shouldn't really be surprised at the existence of another one.

"What are you doing here?" she asked suspiciously. The Sharingan stayed on, the single tomoe spinning lazily. The boy undoubtedly noticed—his brow was raised—but he didn't comment.

"You had a nightmare, so I woke you up," he explained. "What's your name?" he asked suddenly.

"Sarada," she said in a clipped tone. Basic resistance to interrogation training – give as little information as you can.

"Uchiha Sarada, right?" he asked for conformation of what he already knew. She nodded.

The boy smiled, taking her aback.

"I'm Kazuki," he gave his name in exchange.

"Uchiha?" she asked wryly. His smile made her relax. Madara and Shin hadn't smiled at her and if they had, it probably would've been too disturbing. This boy was so normal in comparison.

"Yeah." He flicked his Sharingan on without prompting and to her astonishment she saw three tomoe. Just as fast as it appeared, the red vanished from his eye. Kazuki put a hand under his cheek and looked at her thoughtfully. "So, what was your nightmare about?"

She was unprepared for the blow and it hurt. The reminder felt to her as if she was tossed back into the icy water just after finally warming up in the sun. Sarada averted her gaze down to avoid his inquisitive stare. She clenched the blankets tightly in her fists.

"It must have been pretty bad. You came in here all banged up and with a high fever, so I guess the nightmare was connected to it," he observed astutely.

"It was a memory... and then it wasn't," she replied, keeping it vague on purpose.

"About your dad?"

"How-" She looked up, cutting herself off before she finished the pointless question. "I said something in my sleep, didn't I?"

He nodded. "You sounded very scared. What happened?"

"I... I don't want to talk about it."

" _He_ did something to you," Kazuki stated with absolute certainty. It was obvious who he was talking about.

She didn't speak. She didn't trust her own voice.

"Do you hate him?" Kazuki asked.

What kind of a question was that? Madara killed her dad and Uncle Naruto, of course she was mad, of course she hated him! However Sarada held back. Something about the way Kazuki's eye was shadowed and concentrated completely on her when he'd asked gave her a hunch that this was a trick question.

"Do you hate... Uchiha Madara?" he repeated when she didn't speak.

"Perhaps," she said coolly. "What's it to you?"

This time he avoided looking at her. "Nothing," he muttered, fiddling with his fingers.

"Where are my glasses?" The change of topic was abrupt, but she was tired of this boy leading the conversation in places he had no business with.

"No idea." Kazuki shrugged.

"My bag?"

"Oh, it's there," he said, pointing to the corner. He helpfully brought the bag to her and Sarada unzipped it. The glasses rested on top of all the items, undamaged to her relief. She put them on and only then she let her Sharingan fade away.

"What's this?" Kazuki reached into her bag without permission and pulled out the old picture that had started everything. "Hey, they are..." he said with recognition, then frowned as he perused the two figures on the photo. A peculiar look came onto his face, soft and lingering, like he didn't quite believe what he was seeing but couldn't bring himself to look away.

Finally, he forced his gaze away from the picture. "Can I have this?" he asked Sarada.

"Why? Do you know... both of them?" Sarada questioned carefully, hiding her spike of excitement. He definitely knew Madara, so there was a chance he could have some information about her mother too. Though Sarada didn't want to let on that was what she was really after.

"It would be strange if I didn't know them," Kazuki replied and scratched at his nape. "They are my parents."

Sarada stared at him blankly, uncomprehending. Her world was just flipped. Everything was upturned. Upside down. Wrong.

"Parents?" she repeated flatly.

"Yeah. They look really young on this picture, but it's definitely them. Maybe this is from when they met?" he hazarded a guess, looking to her for an answer.

She didn't know. She didn't care.

Sarada's lips moved without thinking.

"You're lying."

"What? What are you saying?"

"You're lying. You can be Madara's son, you look a lot like him, but this is my mom. Not yours," Sarada explained very, very calmly like she was talking to a slow child.

Kazuki openly gaped at her, incredulous at her claim. "You're crazy! She is my mom! She's always been here, with me and dad!"

"Prove it!" Sarada cried out, full of denial."Prove that you're telling the truth! But I know you can't! You don't look like her at all!" She smirked triumphantly, sure that she had him beaten. It didn't matter that she also didn't resemble her mother, as long as Mom was only hers. Dad had said that Sakura was her mother and Sarada believed him.

"Alright. I can prove it," Kazuki said unexpectedly.

Sarada felt a trickle of worry at his dead serious tone. He wasn't bluffing, but she didn't see any evidence to his favour.

"Look!" The boy brushed away the fringe that covered the left side of his face and looked her with mismatched eyes—the right one was black and the left one was of the same haunting shade of green Sarada always admired on the pictures of her mother.

"See? She is my mom," Kazuki said, fixing her with a determined, cold look, flaunting the eye before her, the only visible, undeniable connection between him and Uchiha Sakura.

Sarada's throat clogged up. She couldn't speak. She closed her eyes. They were itching badly and she gripped the blanket tighter to stop herself from scratching at them until they came out.

 _How do you know she wants to see you?_ Madara had asked. Was this a reason, not because he'd tried to make her give up on the search for her mother, but because he knew the truth? He'd wanted to spare her the pain when she found out that her mother didn't return because she didn't want to see her. Mother had a new child, a better child, a handsome boy with a fully matured Sharingan. She didn't want anything to do with a plain-looking, boring glasses girl who looked nothing like her and couldn't even awaken the Sharingan for twelve years. What a failure!

Sarada clutched at her face as the hot rush of tears broke the dam. She was crying, the tears slipping through her fingers and dripping on the bed. Her body was shaking, but she didn't let out a single sob.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Kazuki asked in a genuine panic. "She can still be your mom too! There's no reason to act like a baby and-"

"Shut up," Sarada snarled at him. She rubbed at her inflamed cheeks. "Get out of here and leave me alone already!" She glared at him with the crimson of the activated Sharingan to strengthen her demand.

When he was gone from the room, Sarada buried her face in the pillow and allowed herself to really cry and rage against the pain that blossomed with sharp thorns deep inside her heart.

.

.

AN: And this is how Sarada found out she's got a brother. Well, Uchiha family drama can't be complete without siblings :)

Madara's POV was kind of filler-ish, any opinions on that part?

I was asked about two matters in the reviews for the last chapter and I feel I should answer this publicly:

1) Chapter length. I consider 2k to be a minimum length for a chapter. This story has longer chapters. It really only depends on how long it takes for me to write certain events planned for the chapter. I stop writing where I think is the right place to stop.

2) Pairings. Shipping is Serious Business, so I should tell you that SasuSaku and MadaSaku both have some presence here (mostly when I'll get to flashbacks). But, the ships' role is to serve the story and make it interesting. Main character is still Sarada and this is her quest to get back her mom.

Next chapter: Mother and Daughter Reunion!

Please tell me your thoughts on this chapter :)


	6. Chapter 6

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 6**

 **.**

Sakura didn't use the second lab room in the basement often. It was too dark and she didn't like the claustrophobic atmosphere down there. However, due to the confidential nature of her work, this was the only suitable place in the house for this particular examination.

She finished the last suture and straightened her body with a tired sigh as her spine finally unbent. Leaning over the slab in the middle of the room for hours put a strain on her back. She took off her bloodied surgical gloves and threw them into a trashcan, then put her hands behind her and stretched out.

She rubbed at her temples, noticing that despite the cooler temperature in the room, she worked up some sweat during her work. She cast a pensive look at the corpse she had dissected and then meticulously stitched up. The pale boy was peaceful in death, his body so small and fragile, creating an illusion of innocence. This image could pull on any mother's heartstrings, but Sakura felt only a general regret at the loss of such a young life. The fact remained that the boy was responsible for hurting her daughter and that wasn't something she could overlook easily. She wasn't going to pity him, when she knew he'd been in a possession of the Mangekyo Sharingan and clearly had been a strong and capable ninja despite his age. Getting in Madara's way had been his only mistake.

Madara had clearly gone overboard, but what else could she have expected from him? She disapproved of his brutality, but couldn't help feeling the grudging gratitude. In the end, he protected Sarada's life. Sakura wasn't sure what she would have done if she had been put in the same situation. She liked to think she wouldn't have killed the boy unless absolutely necessary.

Sakura sat down at the table where she could study the tissue samples under the microscope. The visual and chakra examination of the body provided conclusive information, but she wanted to check on something in the boy's cells. She made notes as she worked, quietly humming to herself when she found something of interest. A shift in the air alerted her to a presence behind her.

"I'm almost done," she said quickly before he had a chance to ask the obvious. "Can you wait for a few minutes?"

"Very well." He settled himself in a second chair.

Sakura compared the results from the several samples and wrote her conclusions. Then she leaned back and spun her chair around to face him. Madara gave her a focused look, his hands busy with turning a tea mug around in a loose grasp. It reminded her that she didn't have anything to drink since breakfast.

"Is that for me?" she asked.

Madara shrugged. "You can have it." He passed the mug to her. The tea was lukewarm, but she still gulped it down.

"What have you found?" he asked when she finished and wiped her mouth.

"This boy's body and chakra are pretty special," Sakura began. "He's a perfect recipient."

"Meaning?"

"It means that his body won't reject any organ transplant. It can also adapt to foreign chakra infusions and make it a part of his own system, thus increasing his strength."

"So it _was_ another eye thief," Madara said contemptuously.

"Actually, no." Sakura was briefly entertained by his surprised expression. He was too used to being right about everything, so it was fun to prove him wrong.

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

"I studied his eyes and then his DNA, just to be sure. He has the Uchiha genes responsible for developing the Sharingan."

"You can't tell me he is a true Uchiha. Just look at him!" Madara gestured at the pale corpse.

Sakura shook her head. "I didn't say that. I'm sure that he is a result of genetic experimentation. There's something strange about his Mangekyo too." She hesitated.

Madara raised an eyebrow. "Don't keep me in suspense," he quipped.

"Right." She breathed in. "It's only a theory, but I think he didn't activate it through normal means. I suspect someone messed around with his brain chemistry and chakra, forcing the activation."

Madara didn't comment, but she could tell by the tightening around his brows that he was displeased. "Any idea who did this?" he asked.

"Whoever it is, must be a medic nin of a considerable skill. Orochimaru or Kabuto would be my first guess, but the Shinobi Alliance has both of them under tight surveillance. They wouldn't have been allowed to do anything like this."

"And you? Could you do something like this?"

Sakura blinked, then grew incensed. Her fists tightened. "If you're suggesting that I would ever experiment on my child's brain, risking permanent damage..."

Madara waved his hand dismissively. "I was asking if you _could_ do this, not if you would."

Sakura relaxed. Slightly. "I'm the best medical ninja in the world, what do you think? Of course I could achieve the same result, but not without research, preparation, practice... which brings me to another point. There's something else I found out."

"More bad news," he guessed.

"The boy is a clone."

Madara grimaced. "There's more of them?"

"Possibly. If someone made one, what's stopping them from making more? If they made enough, they could have destroyed brains of a few just to learn how to artificially activate the Mangekyo."

"I need to find this person," Madara said, rising to his feet.

"You mean 'we need'. I'm going too." Sakura also got up. "If they're as good a medic as Kabuto, you don't know what else they have up their sleeve."

Madara didn't object, which she took as a tacit agreement. He activated the Rinnegan and looked at the boy's body.

"What are you doing? We have a rule – no dojutsu in the house," she reminded, hiding her anxiety under the exasperated tone.

"It's too late to pull out his soul and question him. I'll have to revive him first," Madara answered, talking more to himself than her as he sized up the corpse.

Sakura felt sick to her stomach. He wanted to return the boy to life only to torture him to death for information? She rushed forward and shielded the boy's body from Madara's view, with her arms spread open defensively.

"No," she said, squaring her shoulders, ready for a confrontation.

"This is the fastest and safest way to obtain the information," Madara reasoned irritably, trying to push her out of the way, but she didn't budge. "Now let me do this. Or do you have a better idea?"

Sakura bit her lip. "I just might. I have a friend that should know something more or at least have means of getting me the intel. Let me try this before you do anything... drastic."

She felt uncomfortable when he looked at her, through her, with his Rinnegan. The eyes were a window to the soul, but the Rinnegan showed nothing while seeing everything. And yet, she stood her ground, waiting for his decision with a determined posture. She wouldn't allow him to bring back this boy to life only to torture and kill him again.

Madara reached out and took a strand of the pink hair. He rubbed it between his fingertips, then wrapped and unwrapped it from his pointer, bringing her closer to him.

"If that is what you wish," he decided and let the Rinnegan fade away.

"It is," she replied firmly.

He leaned closer, their lips almost touching, and she braced herself for a kiss, but he stopped himself. His breath lightly blew on her skin. She smelled on it the tea he'd shared with her.

"Contact your friend," he ordered. "But make it quick."

"Yes," she said, barely moving her lips.

His finger rested on her smooth cheek and slid down in a slow caress.

"Come to my room tonight," he invited. The heat simmered beneath the blackness of his eyes. She couldn't stand its intensity, so she averted her gaze.

"I'll be too tired. I didn't sleep much last night." It was the truth. She stayed up with Sarada, watching over the girl until the fever broke.

"You will sleep by my side."

She should have known that wouldn't deter him. He had this way of blowing away her excuses like they meant nothing.

" _Only_ sleep," she made her one condition.

"If you say so," he said amiably, like he was humouring her. The light smirk revealed that he had a different idea about how their evening would really go.

Sakura pursed her lips, feeling resigned and irritated at once.

When she didn't argue, he drew back from her, giving her room to breathe.

"Madara... what should I do with the body?" she asked.

"Just seal it away." He didn't seem concerned.

"What about the Sharingan?"

That question gave him a pause. These weren't just eyes—they were a precious resource, even disregarding their unusual origin. They could be harvested to use as a spare or destroyed so they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands.

"If they're his natural eyes, leave them," Madara said at last.

Sakura immediately felt lighter, as if the heavy burden fell off her shoulders. She didn't relish the idea of doing the same thing to the dead boy as Danzo had done to the Uchiha clan. Fortunately, Madara didn't demand that of her.

After he left the basement, she cleaned up the lab after the dissection. Sakura moved quickly and efficiently, then locked the door and went upstairs.

She found the door to the backyard open and Kazuki sitting on the porch. He was playing with the kunai, throwing them at the target board like darts. From what she saw, he already made a letter "z" on it and was working on the other diagonal line to complete an hourglass symbol.

"Did you eat?" she asked.

"Mom?" He jolted up from surprise. That caused her concern, as usually he was more aware of his surroundings. This time she didn't even try to sneak up on him. "Oh, yeah, I ate already," he belatedly replied.

Sakura looked him over. Something had him preoccupied and she had a nasty suspicion that it was Madara's fault. Again.

"What's on your mind?" she asked, taking a seat beside him, ready to run damage control.

Kazuki shrugged. "Nothing much..." He idly spun the kunai around his finger. "Girls are weird..." he finally admitted.

 _Girls? Since when does he have girl problems?_ Sakura thought in bewilderment. Her little boy was only ten, wasn't it too early for that?

Then a lightbulb switched on and she almost smacked herself.

"Is this about our guest?"

"Yeah... is she really my sister?"

So he knew. Sakura breathed out. She'd planned to be the one to tell him.

"Yes, she is your older sister."

Kazuki nodded, like he expected that answer, but she also caught a sad downturn of his lips as his eyes became heavy.

"Did you talk to her? How is she?" Sakura quickly posed her own questions, not just because she was curious, but as a way to gauge his reaction.

"She's better, I guess. She said a bunch of weird stuff and then threw me out of the room," Kazuki complained. His voice was laced with disappoinment, unknowingly dashing her high hopes. She'd always imagined her children would get along when they finally met. "I think you should go talk to her," he added.

"I will." Sakura glanced at her son. He was still troubled, with an adorable little wrinkle on his forehead. She tapped it to get his attention. "Chin up. Don't take to heart whatever she said. She's probably still very confused about everything, just like you. Give her some time and she'll figure this out, okay?" Sakura smiled encouragingly.

Kazuki remained dubious, then shyly nodded, taking her word for it. "Okay." A small smile curled his lip in return.

Sakura beamed.

"Sarada is your only sister and you are her only brother. I'd like it if you looked out for each other. Can you promise me that?"

"I think so..." Kazuki appeared unsure, so she gave him a little nudge.

"Just think?" She kept her tone light, but he must have caught onto her subtle admonishment. Kazuki drew up, reaching the decision.

"No... I promise," he said seriously.

"Good." Sakura ruffled his hair and got up.

As she went to the guestroom, her footsteps were soft and soundless... and slower. Now that she knew her daughter was awake, Sakura remembered that she'd never spoken with her. This would be their first conversation which wasn't one-sided, unlike talking to her own pregnant stomach or to the baby in her arms years ago.

Madara told her about Sarada's strong desire to meet her, but all it did was to make Sakura more apprehensive. What if she just didn't measure up to the image her daughter had constructed in her mind? She had no idea what Sasuke told Sarada about her. Sakura didn't even know what she was supposed to say or do and there were other things to account for than just her daughters' feelings.

The most prudent thing would be to remain distant. If Sarada grew too attached to her, it would be much harder to send her back to the safety of Konoha. But Sakura's heart rebelled at the thought of treating her daughter coldly, even if it was a smart thing to do.

Being a ninja, as well as a mother, wasn't easy.

Sakura stood before the guestroom's door for a while, reining in her emotions. She swallowed her nervousness and went inside.

At the sight of a small body trembling with weak sobs, with the face buried in a pillow to muffle the sound of crying, all thoughts of keeping a distance fled her mind and she just moved on pure maternal instinct, rushing to the bedside.

"Sarada?" she called and tentatively put a hand on her child's back.

"M-Mom?" the girl stammered. She pulled herself up, revealing a blotchy, red face soaked with tears. She rubbed the moisture from her eyes. "It's really you," she said in awe, like she couldn't believe it. It brought a sting that Sakura should have expected. She fully deserved it.

"Yes, it's me," Sakura said with a gentle smile.

Sarada gave her a long look of wonderment. "You're prettier than on the pictures," she blurted out, then blushed in embarrassment.

Sakura gave a surprised chuckle. "Thanks. I only have a few of your baby pictures so I can't compare you with any of them. You've grown up so much." She blinked back the tears, holding them at bay. The separation from her precious daughter filled her with profound sadness, but she couldn't stop smiling anyway. "I... I missed you so much..." Her voice was breaking.

"Mom," Sarada said, all choked up and also on the verge of tears. "Can I..." She bit her lips, looking at Sakura with hesitation.

Sakura wordlessly opened her arms and her daughter fell into them, sobbing heartily. Sakura couldn't stop her tears anymore as she tightly embraced her firstborn child for the first time since Sarada's infancy. They wept together for all the lost years they would never get back, for the empty holes in their lives left by each other's absence that nothing else could fill, for their frayed and fragile bond. And yet, there was also happiness in their tears, for at last they had found each other.

This moment was too beautiful to last and Sakura's ninja sensibilities felt it all too keenly. She cried and gripped her child even harder, already dreading the moment she'd have to truly let go of her precious daughter again.

"Mom... too tight..." the girl mumbled against her shoulder.

"Sorry..." Sakura loosened her hold.

The flood was slowly drying up and the mother and daughter calmed down in their embrace. Sakura's one hand gently stroked Sarada's silky soft hair, while the other rubbed soothing circles on the girl's back while surreptitiously sending the diagnostic chakra to check on her condition. The back wounds were completely healed and the fever was gone. The lungs were clear too, without any signs of pneumonia. With her medic side satisfied, Sakura cut off the chakra probe.

Sarada said something, but it was too quiet to hear.

"Can you repeat that?" Sakura asked and reluctantly let go to look at her daughter.

"He said that you didn't want to see me," Sarada whispered without meeting her eyes.

"Who said that?" Sakura fervently hoped it wasn't Kazuki. She taught him some manners.

"Madara..."

Oh. That explained everything.

"Don't listen to him. He's often wrong."

Sarada nodded. Sakura noticed that the girl was sneaking glances at her. Sarada had something on her mind.

"You probably have a lot of questions. You can ask me anything," Sakura told her. Her gentle smile eased the girl's worry.

"Is he... Is Madara..." Sarada swallowed dryly. She seemed scared. "...my real father?"

Sakura stared at her without comprehension.

"Where... did you get that idea?" She honestly couldn't wrap her head around it.

"So... he's not?" Sarada asked, black eyes shining hopefully. They reminded Sakura so much of her daughter's father.

"Your father is Sasuke. Why would you think he's not? Unless..." Sakura paled. No, not her Sasuke-kun! He wouldn't... "He treats you well, right? He takes good care of you?" she asked frantically as she grabbed her daughters shoulders in alarm, looking her over for signs of... anything wrong.

"Mom! Dad's fine, really! He can be grumpy, but he loves me. I know it..." Sarada reassured with a small smile, touching a hand to her chest _._ Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "It's just that he never talked about you... and I found that old picture of you and Madara and I thought that maybe he was..." Sarada trailed off awkwardly.

"That he was your father?" Sakura finished for her with amusement, then shook her head. "No, he's definitely not. You look a lot like Sasuke when he was your age."

"Really?"

"Yes, you have his eyes and his smile. Well, he didn't smile much back then..."

"He still doesn't," Sarada said, a shadow passing through her face before it cleared away. "I know I'm similar to Dad, but I don't look like you at all. I don't have pink hair or green eyes. Sometimes I think I'm not... yours," she said with a downcast expression.

"Sarada!" Sakura's raised tone startled the girl, but that was the point. She quickly applied another bear hug to squeeze out of her daughter such a ridiculous thought. "Don't you ever think silly things like this! The eye colour and hair colour don't matter, you know? Only a good daughter like you would come this far just to see her mother."

"Mom... can't... breathe..."

"Sorry, sorry." Sakura let her go. "Now you understand what I'm saying?" she asked sternly.

"Yeah." The girl grew quiet. "Mom, I have a question..." Sarada said unexpectedly.

"Yes?"

"I finally found you, so... we can go home now, right?" she asked.

Sakura's body froze and something in her chest lurched painfully. "Don't worry, after you get better, I'll make sure to get you home safely," she replied with her best fake smile.

"But I came all the way here to bring you back," Sarada said sharply, catching that Sakura didn't include herself in the "getting home" part.

A sigh escaped Sakura. "We'll talk about this later, okay? Now, are you hungry?" She knew her daughter must be hungry and used it as a distraction.

"So, you're not coming with me? Why?" Sarada wasn't fooled by this tactic. She was too smart for that, just like Sasuke.

"It's just something I can't do."

"Why?"

That one short word, along with Sarada's pleading look, was too much for Sakura to bear. Fearing that she might crack and say something she shouldn't, she quickly jumped to her feet. "So! I know you must be hungry and I'm hungry too, so I'll go get us something to eat. I'll be right back!" she exclaimed with forced cheer, giving a flimsy excuse for her hasty exit.

She hoped the retreat to the kitchen to throw together a meal would give her enough time to regroup and gather her thoughts. With a tray packed with a piping hot dinner in hands and a new plan in her head, Sakura marched back to the guestroom, telling herself that she was ready to field even the most difficult questions this time.

She almost dropped the tray when she found the bed—empty, window—wide open with the curtain fluttering on the breeze, and Sarada—gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 7**

 **.**

All her life Sarada had dreamed about meeting her mother. She'd imagined everything about that moment—from the circumstances like Mom's heroic return from a long secret mission, to the most minute details like what they both would be dressed into and what exactly they would say to each other.

The reality wasn't anything close to her fantasies, yet felt infinitely better to the young girl. The reunion was everything Sarada really wanted—her mother didn't hate her and said that she'd missed her with sincerity. Sarada felt their hearts connecting in that moment. If only she didn't ask about the return to Konoha so soon, she could've had more time with her mother before the spell was broken and she was thrust back into the cold and merciless reality.

Sarada watched her mother's escape with numb disbelief, which quickly transformed into something much darker. Mom was supposed to be strong, loving and reliable. This woman just ran out because she was afraid of answering an important question. Sarada was reminded of her father's similar avoidance tactics. He'd done it with more brooding, but the principle remained the same—she was a child so adults thought she didn't deserve to know the truth.

Mom wasn't coming back. After all this dreaming, fighting, running, even after _Dad died_... she was still not coming back.

This was bullshit!

Sarada was so mad that her Sharingan inadvertently activated. Her nails tore into the covers and she bit her lip to stop the flow of tears, but it didn't work and they burst through. Sarada bowed her back and let them fall on the sheets as she struggled with an overwhelming torrent of emotions. Seething anger at her mother writhed inside her, but it was nothing next to the anger at her own weakness. In the end she couldn't do anything to bring Mom back and it was the last thing she'd promised to Dad, Dad who was _dead_ because of her...

Sarada trembled harshly, her breathing was too fast and too shallow, she needed more air! But she was choking up, the walls were closing in on her, they were going to bury her alive. She couldn't stay in that damn room anymore, she hated it!

The girl threw off the covers and scrambled out of the bed. She only stopped to put on her sandals and grab her bag before opening the window and jumping out. She didn't even check how high she was. Thankfully the room was on the ground floor and she didn't break a leg from her recklessness. Sarada was lightheaded, but out of the confined space she could already breathe easier. She loped into the trees and followed the edge of the forest around the house until she reached the front side with the abandoned shrine. The stone walkway leading to it was cracked and covered with moss, the guardian statues were headless, and the paper lamps long decayed.

Sarada felt just like that shrine looked—beaten up and deserted. She decided to take a look inside. Moreover, no one would think of looking for her in such a place, so she would be able to think.

The girl opened the door and slipped into the darkened shrine. The light from the outside made everything dim. Sarada noticed that it was surprisingly clean as no dust motes floated around. She slowly walked forward and approached the altar. She recognized the symbols of Uchiha and the tomoe made of three magatama decorating it. At the center there was an empty sword stand, but it was a little too dark to read the plaque beneath it.

A tasty smell reached her nose and her stomach painfully clenched in hunger. Sarada located the source of the mouthwatering smell—there were dishes with food offerings set before the altar. Having a choice between nutritious but disgusting ration bars and the real cooked food, even if it was meant for the gods, she didn't hesitate for long. The rice, fish and vegetables were cold, but she scarfed them down like a starving person.

Sarada contemplated the empty dishes without a grain of rice left, licking her lips and wishing there was more food. She was beginning to understand Chouchou and her enthusiasm for big and delicious meals. The thought of her best friend brought a pang of wistfulness. She really missed Chouchou, who was always able to lighten the atmosphere with her commentary. Her friend also had a knack for giving valuable insights.

Footsteps from outside alerted Sarada to someone approaching. Panicked, she hid in the darkest corner and suppressed her chakra presence. She hoped the person would go away quickly without coming inside and seeing the missing offerings.

No such luck. Sarada's eyes widened in shock as she saw Uchiha Madara entering the shrine. He didn't give any indication that he noticed her presence.

He lit the two lamps at the sides of the altar with his fire jutsu, then did the same with candles standing on it. In the orange glow, Sarada observed that he was dressed casually in dark short-sleeved shirt and pants with taped ankles. He just looked... so normal, not like a monster that he was. How many times did she see her own father wearing similar clothes around the house? Sarada held back the tears, lest her sniffling would give her away to that man. She really didn't want that.

Madara's feet were bare, so he must have taken off the shoes before coming in. She looked down at her sandals in a bout of guilt, but she squashed the useless feeling. She wasn't here to pray, she was hiding!

Madara sat crosslegged on the cushion right in front of the altar and clasped his hands. He stared at the flickering flames for a long while. After that he moved into full-lotus position and closed his eyes, sinking into meditation. In the warm glow, his profile looked like carved from stone. He was ideally still and silent.

As she observed him hatefully, Sarada didn't miss the lack of Rinnegan in his eyes. He appeared lost in thought and the way he was sitting didn't offer the best defense. Sarada's eyes bled into the Sharingan as she calculated the angle of an attack, hands pulled out a kunai and her body shifted into the stance to make a throw without making any sound. She was pulled taut like a string on a bow, lips quirking in a smile full of anticipation as she felt out for the best moment to wipe this monster off of the face of the Earth.

Now!

The kunai whistled through the air with a deadly accuracy, going for Madara's jugular. His arm shot up in a blur and with a gasp of disbelief she saw that he caught the tip of the kunai between his middle and pointer fingers. He wasn't even slightly cut.

"You shouldn't have tried that," he said mildly.

"How? How did you do that?" she blurted out, coming out of her hiding and into the circle of light before the altar.

"The offering I left in the morning was gone, there's a faint smell of medicine and you didn't hide your killing intent. You should work on that. You botched your first assassination, but you were soundless and didn't leave tracks, so you get some points for semi-competency."

Sarada bristled. She didn't need his critique of her ninja abilities. "Give that back," she demanded. She was getting nervous that he still had her kunai.

Madara held it out to her handle first and she took it gingerly, then slipped it into her pouch.

"So it was you who made the offering," she said after a beat. "The rice was overcooked and the taste of everything was very bland, but I guess it was at least edible, so you get points for being a semi-decent cook."

After giving the biting remark, she realized what she'd said and to whom. Her heart hammered in her chest from anxiety as she waited for a punishing blow. Madara only stared at her impassively.

"You're learning," he said with a touch of approval.

Sarada didn't know how to feel about gaining his _anything_ —anything positive, just as she tried hard not to think that she had eaten something he'd prepared.

"Are you not offended?" she asked with a challenge.

"Should I be?" he asked. "I did advise you to make up better insults. Copying off of me is a good start."

Sarada flushed. She forgot all about that pearl of 'wisdom' he'd imparted when she'd been busy trying to kill him in her rage. The insult he complimented her for just came out of her without a thought. She wanted to spite him, not please him!

She turned away from him and looked at the altar which provided her with a suitable escape from that thread of conversation. "What's this place?"

"The shrine of Susano'o, the god of sea and storms," Madara replied. "It was run by the Uchiha clan for generations."

"So you're reviving the family tradition? You're not very... priestly," she commented with a frown.

"I'm not reviving anything. But my mother was a priestess," he divulged. "The offering was for her and the rest of my family."

Sarada blinked in surprise. The monster had a mother? But that wasn't what she decided to ask. "Don't you have a home shrine for that?"

"This is the place of a dead past. It seemed more fitting." Madara then gave her a shrewd look. "Speaking of mothers, how was your meeting with Sakura?"

Sarada crossed her arms and refused to meet his eyes. "None of your business," she replied coldly.

"I take that it didn't go well," he remarked, hitting the nail on the spot. He sounded like he was talking about something trivial, like weather. The resentment within Sarada bubbled up and overflowed.

"It's all your fault!" Sarada burst out as she whirled towards him, fists tightened angrily. "You kept her here all this time, didn't you?! What did you do to her?!"

"Now we're moving to accusations, I see." Madara was completely unperturbed by her outburst. "What makes you think I did anything to Sakura?"

"She doesn't want to come back! The only one that can keep her here is you!" Sarada snarled. "She could've been in Konoha all this time, with me and dad! We could've been a real family! You ruined everything! You bastard!" The rage clouded her vision and tears pricked at her eyes. She scrubbed them away furiously.

"Is that what you think? That your mother is a weak woman that can be so easily controlled?" Madara asked with a shake of his head. "She stays with me out of her own free will. She had plenty of occasions to leave."

"I don't believe you!" Sarada spat out.

"Then don't. It's of no consequence to me."

Her red-hot anger clashed with his icy indifference. Sarada wished she could strangle him and shake the answers she needed out of him. She was conscious of the chasm in power between them, but her hand still inadvertently clasped on the kunai's handle. Madara directed his gaze there and smirked, like he was daring her to try attacking him. She bit her lip, but withstood the urge to do just that.

"Someone's coming," Madara said, breaking the stalemate.

Sarada flashed to her hiding spot and crouched. She hoped Madara would take the hint not to rat her out, especially if it was her mother coming. Sarada wasn't ready to face her yet.

"Dad, you in there?" Kazuki's voice rang out.

"Yes," Madara replied.

"Have you seen Sarada? She ran off somewhere and Mom is tearing the place apart looking for her."

Sarada tensed up.

"Kazuki, come in here."

After some shuffling which indicated that he took off the shoes, the boy entered the shrine. Without hesitation he walked up to the altar.

"What is it, Dad? I need to go help looking or Mom will have my head," he said.

"Take a seat."

The boy plopped down on a cushion next to Madara. Sitting side by side, the close relation between them was made even more obvious to the naked eye. Identical features, black spikes of hair, even the posture. It looked like Madara spawned a child clone of himself.

 _And what if he really did?_ Sarada ruminated. She realized that she knew nothing about Kazuki. What kind of a person he was? Another monster like Madara, just in a child's body?

"What did your mother tell you to do?" Madara inquired.

"Just to search around. She went to the cliffs to look there," Kazuki explained.

"And why did you come here?"

"Well, I thought you might have seen Sarada. And it's the only place left here that she could hide in."

"Hm, indeed," Madara said. "What are you going to do now?"

Kazuki shrugged. "Walk around the forest and try to take her by surprise?" he offered.

His father shook his head. "If you want to catch your quarry, you need to think like her. Get into her head. Think of everything you know about her and predict what she would do," he lectured. "Try it now."

"Okay, Dad." Kazuki immediately closed his eyes and concentrated. After a short while, he opened them again. "I think she wants to go home. She's never been here so she doesn't know the terrain to find a good hideout. And she has no reason to stay. So she's probably going to find the village first."

"Why do you think she doesn't want to stay?"

"She doesn't like you, Dad," Kazuki said bluntly. "She doesn't like me too and we talked only for a few minutes. She was here only for Mom and then she still ran away."

Sarada almost gave herself away as she held back her protest to his ridiculous claim. She definitely didn't dislike him! She just... didn't know him. _What gave him the idea that I don't like him?_ She thought with indignation. Then she remembered how she'd yelled at Kazuki and thrown him out of the room. Sarada winced guiltily. She really didn't make the best first impression as the older sister.

Madara didn't comment on Kazuki's observations. Instead, he laid a hand on his son's shoulder. "Well then, I have a mission for you," he said. "You have an hour to find Sarada and bring her back to the house. That should be enough time before your mother does something rash. You can use any means necessary. Do you accept this mission, Kazuki?"

"Yes, Father," Kazuki replied, using a formal way of address.

Sarada wanted to scoff. As if a boy who should still be learning how not to cut himself with his shuriken in the Academy could take down her, the top of her class. But the serious air around Madara and Kazuki gave her a pause. They acted as if this mission was a real thing.

Hmph. Sarada shook herself off. Kazuki might look like Madara, but he was still just a kid. He was no threat to her.

"Go," Madara told his son and watched him scuttle out with a slight smile playing on his lips. It softened his rough edges and for a moment he looked very... fatherly, for a lack of a better word.

Sarada walked out of her corner and put hands on her hips. "What was that for? You just set him up to fail your little mission. I heard where he's going to look for me."

"How is your chakra?"

"It's fine." Actually, her reserves were still recovering, so she was running on less than a half of full capacity, but she wasn't going to tell him that. Sarada frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Madara's sharp smirk made her uneasy. "There's a second part of the mission. You are going to follow him and if he doesn't spot you in an hour, you're going to ambush him. Same rules."

"You... want us to fight?" she asked dubiously.

"I believe I said any means necessary, as long as you complete your objective anything is fine."

"And why exactly should I listen to you? I'm not your servant to do your every bidding," she said.

"I brought you to your mother in exchange for your help with eye thieves, didn't I?" Madara reminded her and she scowled as she couldn't deny the truth. "In the end, you weren't much help, so you can make yourself useful now," he concluded.

She gave him her harshest glare and crossed her arms. "I'm not doing this," she said firmly.

"Too scared?" he taunted.

Sarada chafed at this but held her ground without a word. Madara looked her over contemplatively, his gaze lingering on her bare forehead.

"I suppose that's to be expected. You're not even a genin yet," he remarked, chipping away at her composure. "Your Sharingan is still undeveloped and you lack in the clan training. What was Sasuke doing, I wonder? Playing dolls with you?"

"Don't you speak about my father! You have no right!" she shouted, trembling with rage from head to toe, the scene of the explosion replaying afresh in her mind. She was clutching her kunai in a white-knuckled grip, barely keeping herself from letting it loose at him. He'd just grab it anyway.

Someday... someday he wouldn't see it coming, but it wasn't going to be today.

Sarada took in a ragged breath, clamping down on her killing instinct and forcing herself to think. What her father taught her was to keep a level head and stay focused. Without it, she'd have fallen apart long ago with all that had been happening to her lately.

"I will agree to participate in your mission," she said with disdain, "on one condition."

"And what is this condition?" he asked with interest.

"You will tell me everything. The whole truth about my mother." Sarada laid her cards down and steeled herself for a refusal that she was used to get from adults who never wanted to tell her anything.

"That's it? Very well," Madara agreed without batting an eye. He acted like what she'd asked for wasn't a big deal to him and this just... floored her. She felt unbalanced and flummoxed. "But you have to succeed this mission," he added. "I'm not going to reward you for mere participation. You have to win this."

That seemed fair. And she was more than confident in her capability as a ninja, even while still recovering.

"Deal," Sarada said quickly. She would have shaken his hand if the perspective of touching him didn't sicken her.

"Good. Now stop wasting time and go," he commanded briskly.

Sarada disliked being ordered around like this, but this time she gladly took her leave. When she stepped outside, she was blinded by the bright sun. As she waited for her eyes to adjust to the light after getting used to the shadows, she realized just how oppressive the atmosphere inside of the shrine was, though it had more to do with the man inside than the place. Away from him, she could already breathe easier.

Sarada did a few stretches and took off down the stone steps. Logically, there should be a road to the village at the bottom of the stairs. Even if she wasn't at her best, she was going to make the short work of Kazuki. Then she'd finally get the answers she needed.

.

Madara meditated. The flames of the candles danced before his eyes, shifting in unpredictable patterns, just like a life that always refused to go according to the plan. He didn't mind—this made the game only more challenging to him.

He wished to observe the girl more. The firstborn of the new Uchiha generation was a smart and resourceful child, but still a child. She didn't pay attention to the big picture, only concentrating on her selfish needs. He could use it too, but he had to be careful.

Was she going to measure up to those before her? Only time would tell.

The pulse of chakra from security seals informed him that Sakura returned sooner than expected. Madara came out to intercept her.

"Madara! Where were you?! Sarada's missing! I've been looking for her all over!" Sakura burst out the moment she saw him. She looked harrowed, like she was barely hanging by a thread before she'd snap. The girl's disappearing act must have shaken her up more than he thought.

"Calm down. She's out, with Kazuki," he said. He deftly wrapped an arm around her shoulders just as Sakura sagged in relief. He stroked her arm soothingly.

"Thank goodness. I was really thinking that she ran away. She could've really hurt herself somewhere in the forest, or fell off a cliff, or..." Sakura was fretting again.

"Shhh, she's fine. She's your daughter."

"That's why I worry! I just got to see her again and if she ran into trouble and got hurt because of me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself," Sakura confessed. His hold on her tightened reflexively.

Sakura closed her eyes tiredly and laid her head on his shoulder. Madara enjoyed their closeness. He liked moments like this, when she forgot about her resolve to put the distance between them, when she just let him in, but they were too rare for his taste.

She let out a choked laugh. "God, I've been such a bad mother to her..." she said in self-deprecation.

"You're wrong on both counts," he objected. "Firstly, you only sought to do what you thought was the best for her. Secondly, what I meant was that she's a lot like you. She's too smart to run into danger without a good reason."

That brought a smile to Sakura's face. Madara was pleased with his accomplishment. He wanted to kiss that smile.

Then she noticed his shift in demeanor and realized the position they were in, because she suddenly stiffened and pulled herself out of his hold. The moment was over.

"If you're sure Sarada's okay, then I still have some other things to do. I'll go take care of sending that message to my contact," Sakura informed him crisply and left.

Madara crossed his arms and watched her with a stony expression until she entered the house. Then he also turned away and walked off.

.

.

AN: This is the beginning of the second arc! Thank you to all the reviewers for your support for this story! You all really motivated me.

I included some worldbuilding. I am no expert on shinto religion, but this is Naruto world after all, so I guess it doesn't have to be 100% accurate.

Please tell me your thoughts on the chapter :)


	8. Chapter 8

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 8**

 **.**

Sarada followed the dusty road through the forest cautiously. The potholes and patches of grass and weeds made it clear that it wasn't used much. When she didn't catch up to Kazuki, even at a slower pace she moved with, she grew uneasy. Something was missing.

She was no expert on tracking, but she knew enough theory from the Academy to look for footprints and other traces. It should've been easy to pick out Kazuki's tracks if the narrow path was so rarely frequented, however as she analyzed the ground, she didn't see any footprints in a child size. There weren't any coming from the shrine, too. How puzzling.

Sarada spun around, sweeping her gaze over the trees, mostly needle-leaved species like cedars and pines. They were nothing like the good old leafy oaks from Konoha. She took in the moist air which prickled her nose with the subtle smell of salt. It wasn't a bad scent, just something she wasn't used to.

The young Uchiha activated the Sharingan and scanned the trees again, but even with the sharper eyesight that allowed her to analyze the minute details in a blink, she didn't detect any traces of Kazuki. If he didn't use this road and didn't take to the trees, then either she went in the wrong direction, which was ridiculous, because there wasn't one, or she missed a second road from the shrine to the village.

Sarada turned back, when she more sensed than heard someone approaching. She only had a split second to move—she slipped behind a tree with her back to it and slowed down her breathing, pulling chakra into herself in a controlled manner. Recently she'd gotten a lot of practice in this trick.

The footfalls were very soft, almost inaudible under the daily sounds of the forest. When she was certain the person walked past her tree, Sarada very slowly and very cautiously peeked out.

It was Kazuki!

She didn't understand how he could come from behind her when he was the one who set out first. Before she became too hung up over this mystery, she reminded herself that it didn't really matter. He came close to catching her off guard, but it was a simple fluke. She crept soundlessly after him, utilizing her hard-learned ninja skills.

Unaware of his shadow, Kazuki continued towards the village. The road led downward and in a place where the trees parted, it revealed a breathtaking view of a blue, sparkling sea and a gentle cove with a sleepy village nestled next to it. Several fishing boats of various sizes were docked in the harbour and white points of seagulls flew around them in circles, some sitting down on masts, some diving towards the water to catch a small fish.

Kazuki didn't even glance at that picturesque scene, as it was his bread and butter, but Sarada stayed rooted to the spot, entranced by the beautiful sight. She could have seen something similar on TV or in photo albums, but in person this was a different experience. Leaving Konoha opened her eyes to a whole new world.

Sarada followed Kazuki into the village. She couldn't take cover behind trees or bushes anymore, but the increased traffic on the road allowed her to mingle with the crowd without drawing much attention to herself. No one paid attention to some teenage girl. Civilians had no reason to suspect she was a ninja and that suited her just fine.

An old woman was sitting before her house and repairing a fishing net as she kept an eye on the daily goings-on in the village. Her sharp eyes, hidden among the wrinkles, settled on Kazuki.

"You! Sakura's boy! Come here!" she called in a barking, scratchy elderly tone.

Something about her sharpness made Sarada wary. Instinct told her that she didn't want this little old lady noticing her. She slinked behind a corner to observe how the situation would play out.

Kazuki ambled closer to the old woman. "Hi, Grandma Hanae! How are you feeling today?" he asked in a chipper tone. The old woman gave him a thin smile.

"My joints ache, but that's normal in my age. But thank you for asking. Maruki, was it?"

"Kazuki."

"Ah, yes. Maruki was that trouble child of my brother's. He died on the sea, have I told you that?"

Kazuki shifted on his feet, giving away his impatience. "Yes, I heard the story. Is there something you needed?"

"When's your mother going down to the village from that mountain? I'm running out of my medicine and I'm too old to come up there myself. Honestly, that silly girl should know better. She's needed here, with the people, not living with ghosts in that haunted shrine," the old woman ranted.

Kazuki discreetly rolled his eyes. "We live in a house next to the shrine, grandma," he replied.

Hanae huffed. "Big difference! That ground is haunted since the priests were slaughtered. I was still a little girl then, but I will never forget the fires." She motioned for him to lean closer, so she could whisper something to him. Sarada curiously peeked out from behind the corner, worrying she wouldn't hear the secret. Fortunately the old woman must have been a bit deaf, because her whisper was still rather loud. "They were from that famous ninja clan, did you know that? They could do all sorts of unbelievable tricks, like spitting fire out of thin air. What they were called? Mo-Mochi..." Hanae frowned, trying to remember.

"The Uchiha clan," Kazuki helpfully provided.

"Ah, yes, Uchiha. Still no one knows who killed them. Well, that was long before that lad Itashi murdered the rest."

Sarada's breath caught. Did she mean Itachi? Like her dead uncle Itachi? But he was a war hero! Her father took her to visit his grave every year! Could this lady be talking about him? Or was there really someone named Itashi? This had to be some kind of a misunderstanding. Besides, it was common knowledge that the clan had been killed by the Akatsuki leader, with her father and uncle as the only survivors.

This civilian grandma had to be wrong, but somehow Sarada still had an urge to talk to her and find out what she knew about her uncle. Maybe later.

The old woman looked like she wanted to continue her long-winded talk, but Kazuki smoothly used the small break in her speech to cut in. "I don't know when Mom is coming down, but I'll tell her about your medicine when I get home."

"Very good!" The old woman pulled a wrapped candy out of her apron's pocket. "Would you like a candy?"

Kazuki shook his head.

"No, thanks. Mom says my teeth will rot if I eat too much sweets. But say, grandma... have you seen a new girl around here? Dark hair, this long," he showed on himself, "she wears glasses and a blue shirt."

"Glasses and a blue shirt, you say?" Hanae repeated and then her gaze fell right on Sarada.

The girl froze, staring at the crafty old woman like a deer in the headlights.

"Is that her?" Hanae raised her finger to point out Sarada's hiding place.

Kazuki whirled around and also spotted her.

"Sarada!"

His voice broke her out of the stupor and Sarada kicked off the ground, disappearing from his view behind the corner. She heard Kazuki throwing a quick thanks over his shoulder to the old woman as he gave chase.

"Anytime, Maruki! Anytime!" Hanae called after him, once again forgetting his name.

As a child raised in a bustling city of Konoha and being friends with a troublemaker like Boruto, Sarada was used to running in an urban terrain. She had played a lot of tag as a child. The problem was that Kazuki knew this village and she didn't. He was gaining on her fast.

Sarada swiftly entered a back alley and vaulted over some trashcans, all the while cursing her own carelessness. She was so confident that she could hide from Kazuki as long as she wanted, but a civilian octogenarian spotted her so easily! She should have used the transformation jutsu or something!

Wait...

Sarada made a sharp turn into another alley, but it turned out to be a dead end. Kazuki would catch up in a matter of seconds. She quickly made the necessary hand seals and in a poof of smoke transformed into one person she knew well and that looked like the opposite of her—Boruto. Then she calmly went back into the alley, hands in pockets, adopting a loose posture of a person that had nothing to do with any chases.

Kazuki ran past her without sparing her a glance. When he was busy trying to figure out where she disappeared to, Sarada climbed on a wooden fence and jumped on the rooftop. She let go of the transformation and laid low on the brown, sun-heated tiles as she found herself a good vantage point for observation. It wasn't the most comfortable position for her neck, but as a ninja she had to endure the discomfort. The point was, people weren't used to looking up when they were searching for someone and she banked on that as she hid from Kazuki. Of course, she took into account the possibility that he'd look up there, which is why she made herself invisible from the street view.

The boy came out of the dead end with clenched fists which he shoved into his pockets. He kicked a rock. It bounced off the ground and struck the fence, then fell in a small bush, startling a white cat which darted out of its green hiding spot.

"Shiro?!" Kazuki exclaimed, recognizing the feline. The cat turned around and tilted its head at him, considering his intentions.

Kazuki crouched down and pulled a small plastic package out of his pocket. He opened it and shook out into his open palm something that looked like little biscuits. He held them out to the cat which took a few hesitant steps towards him before sitting on its hind legs. It was watching the offered food intently, the same way Sarada was watching the whole scene unfolding from the roof.

"Come on, don't you want something tasty? This is for you," Kazuki told him with a soft smile. "And to say sorry for scaring you."

After some more careful enticement, finally the cat came to him and ate the biscuits out of his hand. It licked around its mouth and looked for more. Kazuki grinned, but instead of the package, he took out a piece of white fabric. He gave it to the cat to sniff.

"If you want more food, you need to help me find a girl that smells like this. Okay?"

Sarada wanted to jump down and tell him that he got the wrong animal to track her. Dogs were a given and the best choice, but a cat?! Who uses a cat for tracking?

Apparently, Kazuki did.

She also wondered where he'd gotten the material with her scent from, before figuring out he'd probably cut out a piece from her bedsheet, which also solved the earlier mystery of him appearing behind her on the road. She admitted to herself it was a smart move on Kazuki's part, but to use a cat?! A normal street cat on top of that?

She just couldn't wrap her head around that. It just seemed so... so... illogical!

"Guys! Look who we've got here!"

The shout from the alley below brought her focus back into the moment. A group of six—four boys and two girls—stalked towards Kazuki, who quickly got up from the crouch. Sarada noticed his hands were empty and he appeared cool, but there was tension along the line of his shoulders. He was wary of these people.

"What do you want, Hiro?" he asked.

A boy in a green vest with cut off sleeves and wielding a long stick stepped forward confidently. He must have been the leader of the group.

"I didn't see you around for a while, Freak Eyes," he said.

Sarada stiffened, gripping the tiles harder.

"You saw me. You can go now," Kazuki replied unmoved by the insult.

"Not so fast. What are you doing in the village? Feeding your stupid cat?"

The cat, which was curled behind Kazuki's feet, hissed at the other boy threateningly.

"He's not stupid and what I'm doing here isn't you business."

"You should have stayed on that haunted mountain, instead of bringing bad luck to everyone here with your freaky eyes."

"I don't have freaky eyes!" Kazuki snapped. The repeated insult finally got under his skin.

"You stared at me like a creep and the next day I broke my leg!" a girl with a ponytail cried out accusingly.

"Yeah! My grandma said only witches have two different eyes!" some boy in a cap added. "And you have that white cat! Just like a witch!"

The children in the group nodded in agreement and started shouting out nasty things about Kazuki and his family, every next one getting more outrageous. They didn't care about truth, they just wanted to hurt him. Hiro was outright smirking at Kazuki who stood rooted in the spot with a shuttered expression. To Sarada, looking from above, he looked so small and so alone and for a moment she fought off the impulse telling her to just rush in there, her task be damned, and put the fear of God into these ignorant, horrible brats until they bawled their eyes out and apologized to Kazuki. She held back, barely.

This took her back to the past, to the times better forgotten...

 _Aunt Hinata took her to the playground with Boruto. He immediately ran off to play with Shikadai and other boys, leaving Sarada alone. She started walking around, looking around to find someone to play with._

 _She approached the girls playing on the seesaw. They were laughing together about something, but the moment she came closer, they went silent and stared at her strangely. Sarada clasped her hands in front of her to tame her nervousness._

" _Hi," she said, but they didn't answer. She carried on. "This looks fun. Can I..." she swallowed, "... can I play with you?"_

 _The girls looked at each other, then back at her._

" _Sure," one of them said. Sarada was going to smile, but the expression froze when the girl added, "We were just going, you can play here." The girls jumped off the seesaw and turned to leave._

 _Sarada looked at them in shock. Why were they going? Why didn't they want to play with her?_

" _Wait!" She ran after them. "Don't leave me! I just want to play with you!"_

" _Go away! We don't want to play with you!" the same girl shouted at her and shoved her to the ground. Sarada looked at her in disbelief, tears gathering in her eyes from the pain of the fall. No one ever did something like this to her and she just didn't understand anything that was happening._

" _But why?" she asked desperately._

" _My parents said you're dangerous just like your dad," the girl responded. Her friend nodded._

" _I'm not dangerous! And my dad is good!" Sarada cried out._

" _My mom told me that all people with the fan symbol are bad. If she sees me with you, she won't give me my dessert today," the second girl told her seriously and both girls left._

 _Sarada didn't try to stop them again. She just sat on the ground, staring down at her hands numbly as tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped on her shirt. She finally stood up and dusted herself off. Then she found an empty corner and spent her time there until Aunt Hinata came to collect her and Boruto._

 _Next time Sarada brought a book to the playground. Most often she was left alone as she read, but sometimes other kids bothered her and called her names. She became distant and wary. The only kids she interacted with were Boruto and little Himawari when she went to their house. Even then, she and Boruto argued a lot about the stupidest things and often it ended in roughhousing until Aunt Hinata broke them apart._

 _Everything changed when Sarada met Chouchou._

But Kazuki didn't have anyone like Chouchou. It was only him and a cat against a bunch of angry punks. Sarada bit her lip, watching the situation anxiously.

"I don't have time for this," Kazuki suddenly said and turned his back to the group as he began walking.

"Hey! We're not finished with you!" Hiro shouted, but Kazuki ignored him. "Are you deaf?!"

When no response came, Hiro charged at his back, swinging down the stick, but before it hit Kazuki's skull, his hand caught it with a resounding clap. Then Kazuki grabbed the stick with the other hand and turned, wrenching it out of surprised Hiro's grasp and hitting him in the stomach. Hiro bent over from the force of the strike before he fell on his butt. The other children gasped.

"You... you..." Hiro spluttered, his face going red with embarrassment.

"You don't want to fight me," Kazuki warned. "I have something important to do, so you better don't get in my way," he said and flung the stick far away.

And for a moment it looked like it worked, that the cowed brats were going to listen to him.

Then a pebble hit him hard in the chest.

"That's for cheating off me on the test! It's your fault I got punished, Freaky Eyes!" a short, round-faced boy yelled and threw a bigger rock, which whizzed past Kazuki's head.

"Get more rocks!" Hiro commanded. The kids bent down to gather their ammunition but Kazuki used that moment to bolt.

"Coward! Let's get him!" Hiro changed his tactics, but he kept the rocks. They all ran after Kazuki, chucking the stones at him in effort to slow him down, though they soon ran out of ammo. Sarada followed the pursuit, jumping the rooftops.

Kazuki was hedging across the village towards the forest, but Hiro was close on his heels. It could take a long time for Kazuki to shake them off and Sarada realized that her hour was almost up.

She made the decision easily. With a few hand seals she transformed again.

When Kazuki turned a corner, his pursuers lost him from sight for a moment. That's when Sarada joined the fray. In her disguise, it wasn't hard to get their attention.

"There he is! Get him!" Hiro shouted when he caught a sight of her. She showed him her tongue and ran into an alley going opposite to the one Kazuki had taken. She let them chase her for a minute, then turned a corner and hopped on a rooftop, losing the tail. She cancelled the transformation.

With the kids taken care of, she returned to her task. She retraced her way back to where she last saw Kazuki, then went in a straight line for the woods.

Standing among the trees, Sarada breathed in the fresh air to center herself. She felt as if she made one big circle and found herself at the starting point. Kazuki was nowhere in sight and she wasn't a chakra sensor, so she had to rely on her sight and hearing to locate him.

A rustle from behind made her whirl around and hold a kunai in front of her defensively. A familiar white cat came out of the bushes and meowed at her. Sarada exhaled and let her kunai down. The cat meowed again, like it was asking her for something.

"I don't have any food for you, sorry," she said.

The cat looked at her with disappointment. Sarada startled at meeting its gaze. The animal's right eye was an electric blue, but the left was bright green.

Just like Kazuki's left eye...

She was so surprised at this that she completely let her guard down. And that's when someone jumped her from behind.

Sarada slammed on the ground with a grunt of pain. She attempted to crawl out from under the person she knew was Kazuki, but he grabbed her arm and pulled it back painfully while digging his knee into her back. Sarada groaned and got a mouthful of dirt. She turned her head to spit it out.

"I caught you," Kazuki said.

"Let. Go." Sarada tried to kick out, but all she got was a hard tug on her arm. Was he going to pull it out of the socket?

Kazuki tied her wrists together behind her back with only one hand, which took some skill. He also took away her weapons pouch and only then he stood up. He was holding the end of the rope.

Sarada rose to her feet slowly, thinking of ways to free herself. Without anything sharp on hand even the jutsu to get out of ropes would take too long.

Kazuki took out the cat food package and gave some biscuits to the cat.

"Thanks Shiro, you did great," he praised him and scratched the kitty behind the ear earning a pleased purr. Then he turned to Sarada. "Come on, we're going home."

She gave a weak glare, but she didn't have much choice. He made her go first, so he could keep an eye on her bound wrists. Her glasses were askew and barely hanging on her nose, but she had no way to slide them up and too much pride to ask for help.

Sarada fell into a brooding silence.

This was supposed to be an easy task, but she failed it. She didn't take it seriously enough. Now she lost her chance to get the truth about her mother from Madara and she had no one to blame.

Only herself.

.

.

AN: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought about the chapter :)

Also, for those who'd like to read this story in Chinese, there is an on-going translation by wonderful Radita. Link in my profile.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 9**

 **.**

Madara was waiting for them at the top of the stairs, his arms crossed and expression unreadable. He watched them climb up and the moment his pitiless gaze slid over Sarada like she was just a part of the scenery, she averted her eyes in shame. Kazuki on the other hand went straight to him and she reluctantly trailed after the boy because he was still holding the rope she was bound with.

"Mission accomplished, Father," he reported.

"Well done, Son," Madara replied and patted him on the shoulder.

Kazuki let the pretense of seriousness fall as he grinned, proud of himself.

Sarada silently seethed. She'd have liked to be freed from the rope which chafed at her wrists, but she also didn't want to call Madara's attention to herself. She wouldn't be able to survive his condescension.

"Come inside," Madara said, motioning them towards the house. "You can both tell me the details later."

So he didn't forget about her after all.

"Kazuki, unbind her. She's not going to run away again, is she?" Madara added, almost as an afterthought, looking Sarada straight in the eye.

"No," she gritted out as the boy stepped behind her and undid the knots. When the rope fell off, she brought her hands to the front and rubbed the feeling back into them, then she finally adjusted her glasses and put on the returned weapons pouch and shuriken holster.

"Sorry about that. I tied your wrists too tight," Kazuki apologized with a frown, noticing the flaming red welts on her skin. "I'll get you some bandages." He quickly headed down the corridor with Shiro on his heels, leaving her alone with Madara. She braced herself for what he would say.

"Anything you'd like to tell me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you come back on a leash, instead of the other way around?" he asked impatiently.

"What?" She turned to him in surprise. Had he... expected her to win?

"You heard me, girl. Why did you lose to Kazuki?"

She crossed her arms and looked away. "I don't know," she grumbled. It wasn't true but she wasn't willing to admit the real reason to him out loud.

"You don't know..." he muttered, every word dripping with sarcasm. "I must have overestimated your intelligence then. Looks like my blood is stronger than Sasuke's in the end," he added smugly.

"You!" Sarada glared at him with blazing eyes, hands curling into fists, but the motion made her welts sting and she winced in pain, loosening her fingers.

Kazuki came back not a moment too soon, bearing medical supplies in his arms. He took Sarada to sit on the porch, where he tended to her wrists. Sarada tried to convince him that she could take care of herself, but he stubbornly refused.

"It's my fault you got injured, so just let me fix this for you," Kazuki told her so firmly that she finally relented.

First, he applied a soothing ointment smelling of aloe vera to her welts, then neatly wrapped them with bandages. Sarada noticed the easy skill with which he gave her the first aid. When he was done, she experimentally moved her hands, testing their current range of motion. It was satisfactory—she wouldn't be dropping her chopsticks any time soon.

"Thanks," she said and offered him a tentative smile. "You're pretty good at this."

Kazuki stared at her in surprise, then returned her smile. "Well, not really. I just know the basics that Mom showed me."

Sarada felt a pang in her chest and her gaze dropped to the white bandages on her wrists. This was yet another thing that she missed out on, something that Sakura taught Kazuki personally, while Sarada had to learn it from a textbook.

"Even your basics are more than good. Most of my classmates wouldn't be able to do the same this well," she told him. Then she reached into her pouch, pulled out several kunai and launched them in rapid succession at the target board standing in the backyard. All of them pierced the wood with a thunk, forming a tight ring around the one that sank in the dead center.

"Wow..." Kazuki gasped in wonder while Sarada came up to the board. She examined her kunai critically. The distances between them were slightly off, but within acceptable limit.

"Not bad," she declared in the end and pulled them out one by one.

"Not bad? That was great!" Kazuki exclaimed, bounding to her side in excitement. "How did you do it so fast? And without your Sharingan?"

Sarada was taken aback by his enthusiasm. What she did wasn't anything special. Both she and the target were even stationary. She shrugged. "I just trained a lot. And I got my Sharingan only recently, you know."

"Could you teach me to throw like that? Please?"

Sarada was floored. No one had ever asked for her help like this. Why would Kazuki even need her help when he had both parents to show him various ninja techniques whenever he wanted? She didn't understand. Kazuki looked at her hopefully. Shiro, who was primly sitting at his feet, imitated the boy's imploring look, so that two pairs of mismatched eyes bored into her.

"I suppose I could give you some pointers..." Sarada said hesitantly.

"Great!" Kazuki grinned and grabbed her hand. "I'll show you where I train, there's more space there."

"You can show it to Sarada tomorrow. She still needs to recover her strength."

Both children turned in unison and saw Sakura standing in the entrance to the porch. Sarada briefly wondered how long she'd been there, observing them unnoticed.

"Kazuki, your father wanted to talk to you. He's in the living room," Sakura addressed her son, who nodded and with a last lingering look left them alone in the backyard. Even the cat made itself scarce, understanding the mood between the mother and daughter.

"How are you feeling? Did you experience any dizziness or nausea?" Sakura asked clinically.

"I feel _fine_ ," the girl grunted.

"Feeling fine and being fine aren't the same thing," Sakura snapped as she came closer.

Sarada stiffened and took half a step back. She didn't know what to expect from her mother after running away from her earlier. Anger, perhaps?

"You were wounded and had a high fever just last night. You shouldn't exert yourself so soon," Sakura explained in a gentler tone, putting a hand on Sarada's forehead.

Despite Sakura's mildness, Sarada felt thoroughly chastised. Her cheeks reddened with embarrassment and she didn't quite know where to look.

She cleared her throat. "Mom, I'm okay now," she said, ducking away from Sakura's touch.

"And let's keep it this way," Sakura replied. "Sarada, I..." She sighed. "I was really worried about you when you ran away. Don't scare me again like that, okay?"

Sarada stared at her. She thought there would be shouts and cold looks, but her mother's expressive green eyes brimmed only with sadness and remorse.

Sarada gnawed on her lip and gave a small nod. "Okay..."

"Thank you." Sakura embraced her with a relieved smile. The short but strong hug lasted only a few seconds.

"You're not... angry?" Sarada risked a question.

"I was. I still am, but only at myself. I didn't explain things to you correctly and I'm sorry for that."

"Yeah..." Sarada accepted the apology with a frown as she noticed that her mother still didn't say anything about coming back.

"Are you hungry? I still have your dinner," Sakura said.

Sarada shook her head. "I ate something when I was out."

"And what happened to your wrists?"

"Just scraped them when I was playing with Kazuki," Sarada replied with a half-truth. She was still smarting from her failure to capture the younger boy, but her mother didn't need to know about that.

Sakura gave her a piercing look, but didn't drill further. "Well then... I was going to do some laundry, so if you took a bath now, I could quickly wash your clothes. How about it?"

Sarada agreed and that's how she found herself submerged in a bathtub. She almost forgot how good it felt to take a bath in hot water. She definitely didn't ever want the repeat of her swim in the icy stream. Now she only had to come up with a plan how to convince her mother to come back to Konoha.

The girl lifted her arm and watched the water cascade off it and into the bathtub. No ideas were forthcoming. All she could do was to talk to her mother again.

When Sarada got out of the bathtub and dried herself off, she found the change of clothes—a red zipped up shirt and black shorts. Sakura had said that these were her old clothes that didn't fit her anymore. On Sarada the shirt was too big, resembling a dress, and the shorts covered her knees. Even without a full-length mirror the girl knew she looked ridiculous.

Despite that, wearing her mom's borrowed clothes felt weirdly nice. She sniffed the material on her sleeve. The subtle smell of lavender put a content smile on her face.

Sarada finger-combed her hair one last time and stepped out of the bathroom. No one was in the corridor and as she concentrated on the sounds of the house, everyone seemed to be preoccupied somewhere else. Away from the bedrooms. Sarada seized what could be her one and only chance.

Time to investigate.

The girl skulked noiselessly down the corridor. The first door she tried was unlocked, but when she opened it, she only found her temporary bedroom. Next door led to Kazuki's room, judging by a shelf of toys and the textbooks and notebooks piled on the desk. Sarada gave it a cursory glance, smiling at the poster of Kagemasa on the wall, and closed the door without coming inside as she deemed nothing of interest to her would be there.

The saying 'third time's a charm' proved true when Sarada entered the third bedroom. It was easy to tell that the room belonged to her mother. The single bed had cream-coloured linens, a painting of a blooming sakura tree decorated the wall, along with a few childish pictures drawn with crayons. One of them presented a pink-haired figure and a black-haired smaller one holding hands beneath a big caption "Happy Mother's Day".

Sarada tore off her eyes from the picture, determined to ignore the stinging sensation in her chest, and went for the dressing table. A framed photo on it also showed Sakura with a younger, maybe five years old Kazuki, both smiling carefree for the camera. Sarada didn't touch it, instead she opened the first drawer after making sure it wasn't booby-trapped. She methodically searched all the drawers, but she didn't find anything out of ordinary and definitely no clues to her mother's situation.

 _Maybe... maybe she's just really happy here, with Kazuki and... Madara_ , Sarada thought with despair. She took the photo frame in her hands, studying it. She wondered if Madara took that picture. Come to think of it, there was a certain lack of his presence in this room.

And... a grey corner was peeking out from under the photo she was holding. With a pounding heart, feeling like she was on the verge of a giant discovery, Sarada impatiently opened the simple frame and took out the contents. The hidden picture was old and worn out, a bit creased, but the people on it were entirely recognizable.

It was her family.

Sarada had never seen this photo before. It showed her mother and father. Sasuke had his arm wrapped around Sakura's shoulder and both were looking down tenderly at the baby resting in Sakura's hold. Sarada knew right away that she was this baby.

A lump formed in her throat. Looking at this picture was like a glimpse into an alternate dimension. This is what her life could have been like—with a loving, complete family. With Mom and Dad watching over her, always.

"Saradaaa!"

The girl whirled around in surprise, expecting to be caught, but no one was standing in the door and glaring accusingly at her. Kazuki was calling her, probably sent by her- _their_ mother. She heard him in the corridor, so she quickly stuffed the family photo in her pocket and restored the picture frame to its previous state. Then she noiselessly went across the room, pressed her back to the wall by the door and listened in. The sound of the door opening and closing was repeated, getting louder every next time. He was checking in the rooms! Sarada cast a panicked look around for a place to hide.

Kazuki entered the room. He scanned it, noting that the window was closed. "She's not here too. Where did she go?" he grumbled under his breath.

If he looked up, he would have caught Sarada's body stretched out with her feet against the wall right above the door and her hands grasping the edge of the ceiling beam.

When the coast was clear, she jumped down with a cat-like grace and slipped out of the room. She found Kazuki back on the porch. She went behind his back without him noticing anything and tapped his shoulder. He jumped up in fright.

"Sarada!" he cried out when he saw it was her. "I was looking for you! Where were you?"

"Just around," she replied nonchalantly.

Kazuki gave her a long stare. "I looked everywhere in the house," he said.

Sarada smirked. "Not everywhere." She thought about telling him to look up more often, then decided against it. She might need this sort of an edge over him later.

Kazuki tried to convince her to tell him where she'd hidden, but her lips were zipped shut on this matter. In the end, he had to give up with an adorable pout.

.

When this long day was coming to an end, Sakura called her children in for supper. Kazuki immediately went to help set the dishes. Madara was already seated at the head of the table which gave him the front position to watch the news on TV. Nothing interesting was reported because as soon as the children came in, his eyes flickered to them before he zeroed in on Sarada. Her hackles rose at the unexpected scrutiny, but then Madara turned his gaze away with a light snort.

"What?" Sarada asked angrily.

"She looks like a mini-you," Madara addressed Sakura, completely ignoring the girl in question.

Sakura set the food on the table and glanced at Sarada curiously. She beamed. "Oh good, so the clothes fit you! I was worried they wouldn't." Then she turned to Madara. "You say it like it's a bad thing. Daughters are supposed to look like their mothers. Besides, you shouldn't be the one to talk when Kazuki looks exactly like you!"

"Not exactly," Madara replied. Kazuki, who took a seat on his right and next to Sarada, looked down on his plate.

Sarada frowned at this exchange. It bothered her. "I'd kill to have a green eye like that," she spoke up.

Everyone looked at her in stunned silence.

Then Madara chuckled. "Kazuki, you better watch out for her."

"That's not what I meant!" Sarada snapped at him, getting red with fury. "Why are you like this?!"

"Like what?" Madara asked with mild interest.

"Twisting everything! You don't take me seriously!"

"Girl, you don't want me to treat you seriously."

"Because you'll cut me down like Shin?" Sarada retorted with venom.

"Who is Shin?" Kazuki asked, looking between them in confusion.

"An eye thief," Madara explained at the same time Sakura hit the tabletop, creating a small crack in the reinforced wood.

"That's enough!" she ordered sharply. "Madara, stop antagonizing my daughter."

"We're just having a conversation," he replied, unfazed by her threatening tone.

Sakura glared daggers at him. "Then stop," she said, not loud, but scathing enough.

Madara kept the eye contact with her for a while longer, then deliberately broke it, making it clear that he was unrepentant and only chose to back off only because the argument wasn't worth his time or attention.

Sakura sat opposite to Sarada, leaving one seat open between herself and Madara, then she calmly removed her plate and chopsticks from the place on his left to her current position. Next, she smiled at the children.

"Well, let's dig in! Itadakimasu," she said cheerfully in an effort to break the tension.

"Itadakimasu!" Sarada and Kazuki repeated after her.

"Itadakimasu," Madara muttered.

While the others at the table began eating, Sarada silently contemplated the food in front of her, the food made by her mother. It was just a simple dish of salmon fried rice, something quick and easy to cook, but she was almost afraid to touch it with her chopsticks. It was absurd as she had never thought anything like that about some very complicated, very delicious dishes Aunt Hinata and sometimes Aunt Ino had prepared for special occasions. Nevertheless, Sarada couldn't bring herself to just... eat it.

"Is something wrong, Sarada? Do you not like salmon?" Sakura asked anxiously. "I'll get you something else." She started to get up.

"No, no! It's okay!" Sarada rushed to stop her. "I was just thinking. I like salmon." To prove her point Sarada shoved a mouthful of food into her mouth, chewed and swallowed. Then she brightened.

It was good.

The meal passed without incident, though it was by no means a silent affair. The family members exchanged some casual chatter and the TV was still yammering on in the backdrop, however Sarada mostly kept to herself. She couldn't relax around Madara.

Sarada polished off her plate, but she still wasn't full. She'd go for the seconds in a heartbeat, but outright asking for more food would have been improper and embarrassing.

"Oh! I forgot about the salad," Sakura said. "Anyone wants some?" she offered.

Sarada nodded eagerly. It was like her mother could read her mind!

Sakura brought the bowl of salad from the kitchen, setting it in front of Sarada who was about to put some on her plate when she froze.

"Sarada? Aren't you going to eat?" Sakura asked, noticing her daughter's strange pause.

The girl abruptly stood up. "I'm sorry, I'm not hungry after all. Thanks for the food, Mom," she said, giving a short bow, and walked out of the room.

Sarada needed air. She went out on the porch and sat down, curled with her knees just under her chin. She looked up at the dark sky. The moon hung low and the stars burned brightly.

And her father was gone.

How was she going to tell Mom?

More importantly—what would Mom do when she finds out?

Sarada dreaded it.

A rustle of clothes alerted her to the presence of her mother. Her heart jumped into her throat, but she remained perfectly still and attempted to repel Sakura with a sheer force of will. It obviously didn't work.

"Can I sit here?" her mother asked softly.

"Sure," Sarada lied. She'd rather be alone than talk.

Sakura sat on the edge of the porch with her legs stretched out in front of her. She leaned back on her hands as she joined in Sarada's stargazing.

Sarada braced herself, waiting for the inevitable barrage of questions about her bizarre departure from the table. The seconds ticked by without anyone saying a word.

"I hate tomatoes," Sarada blurted out when she couldn't endure the anticipation any longer. It was better to just give some explanation than wait for her mother to say something.

"You hate them?" Sakura repeated, dumbfounded.

Sarada gave a curt nod. Sakura regarded her with a new look of wonder.

"Sorry... You just remind me so much of your father, that I assumed you'd like them too," she said sheepishly.

Sarada's heart clenched. "Yeah, he's a tomato fanatic," she muttered, ducking her head.

Fortunately her mother pegged this as an expression of Sarada's disgust with tomatoes and not the sign that she was hiding something.

"Well, you need to tell me what are your favourites, so I'll know what to make you next time, right?" Sakura suggested and Sarada welcomed the change of subject with relief.

The secret was safe for now.

Mother and daughter spent the rest of the evening chatting about the most mundane things. Sarada was surprised by how easy it was to talk with her mother, despite being virtual strangers until this day. Before she knew it, she opened up about her life to Sakura, who was unendingly curious about everything—her school, friends, the village. They had a good laugh together when Sarada told a funny story about Inojin and Sakura recalled something similar happening to his mother back in the day.

Sarada dragged her feet when it was finally time to go to bed. Despite her tiredness, she was terrified of falling asleep. She settled under the covers and tried to relax, but the thoughts of her last nightmare kept her awake. Sakura came into the bedroom soon after, already changed into a nightgown.

"I wanted to say goodnight," she explained, fiddling with her own hands. Then she slowly approached the bed and tucked Sarada in. Her tenderness made the pleasant warmth spill over in the girl's chest.

"Mom, can you... stay a little while longer?" she asked quietly.

Sakura smiled. "Of course." She sat on the edge of the bed. "Is there something on your mind?"

Sarada took in a deep breath. There was something she absolutely needed to ask her mother, even if she was afraid of asking. In the darkness, when their faces were hidden by shadows, it was much easier to pluck her courage.

"Mom, do you... do you hate Dad? Is that why you don't want to come back?" Sarada asked.

.

.

AN: Thanks for reading! Please let me know your thoughts about the chapter :)


	10. Chapter 10

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 10**

 **.**

Bright morning light shone into Sakura's face, waking her up. She squinted and rubbed at her eyes lazily, suppressing a yawn. Someone on the bed beside her tugged the covers so they slipped off her body and she shivered, exposed to the cold. Abruptly she realized that she wasn't in her own bedroom.

Sakura looked over and saw a tuft of black hair and a small arm sticking out from beneath the sheets. She smiled softly at her sleeping daughter. Sarada was too big to sleep with her parents, but she'd never slept next to her mother, so Sakura made an exception and stayed with her for the night. In her own mind, she admitted to herself that it was a way to assuage her own guilt for leaving Sarada when she'd been a baby.

The woman slipped out of the bed and shuffled outside to begin her day.

When she entered the kitchen, already dressed, she found the apron-clad Madara pouring batter into a pan with a deep frown of concentration.

"Good morning," she said and poured herself some tea from the kettle.

He grunted absently, absorbed by his task. He cooked the pancake, then with a flick of his wrist flipped it over, so it soared into the air and landed perfectly in the pan.

He must have been at it for a while, as indicated by the small pile of fresh pancakes set aside on the counter. It also meant that Sakura really overslept if Madara had decided to cook breakfast by himself. Usually, she was the early riser of their family so she took charge of that.

Sakura grabbed a plate and was about to get herself a pancake from the top of the pile, when Madara wordlessly swiped the dish out of her hands. He flicked the hot pancake off the skillet on the plate with a resounding slap, then held it out to her.

"Thanks..." Sakura said, trailing off, as she took it.

She shrugged and sat on a stool at the counter. Next, she picked up her favourite raspberry jam and slathered it on her pancake. Madara turned off the stove, before also serving himself the breakfast and joining her. As he grabbed the ketchup bottle and squeezed a huge dollop on his pancakes, Sakura just shook her head. Madara developed a strange liking for ketchup because he'd never had it in his childhood as it had been completely unknown back then, but the way he was putting it on pancakes like a custard was just hard to watch. He always argued that ketchup was slightly sweet so it tasted good with pancakes. Sakura was only glad that Kazuki didn't inherit his father's strange culinary ideas.

"Where's Kazuki?" she asked.

"Training," came a curt reply.

Sakura glanced at Madara cautiously. What was he so miffed about?

The only sound in the kitchen was that of their chopsticks as they ate.

"You didn't come to me last night," he finally said.

Sakura rolled her eyes. That was his problem?

"I was with Sarada and I fell asleep," she explained. He had no reason to be mad that she spent time with her daughter.

"I know," he said. Only when she looked back to her plate, thinking they were done, he struck. "Had fun telling her fairy tales about yourself and Sasuke?" he asked sardonically.

Sakura's head whipped up. "You were listening in?" she hissed.

He snorted. "No. But imagine my surprise when Kazuki asked me this morning how we fell in love."

"And what did you tell him?" she asked, almost crushing the chopsticks in her iron grip. _He wouldn't dare..._

"That he should ask his dear mother. You better quickly think of another grand tale of romance."

"You want me to lie to _my son_?"

"How is that different from lying to your daughter?" he asked with a shrug.

Sakura blood boiled and she shot up on her feet. "Everything I told Sarada about Sasuke was the truth!"

Madara crossed his arms and gave her an unimpressed look.

.

" _Mom, do you... do you hate Dad? Is that why you don't want to come back?" Sarada asked._

 _Sakura rubbed her temple tiredly. "No, it's not the reason. My feelings for your dad have nothing to do with this."_

 _Sarada emanated displeasure at this reply. This girl was so much like Sasuke that it brought a smile to Sakura's face. She stroked her daughter's silky hair gently._

" _Believe me, I never hated your dad. If I did, you wouldn't exist."_

" _So you love him? How did you and Dad fall in love?" Sarada asked, burning with curiosity._

 _Sakura giggled. "Oh, didn't he tell you? How typical..." She thought for a bit. "Well, I was in love with him for a long time, but he had no time for romance."_

" _Then how-"_

" _Shh, I'm getting there. After the Fourth War, your dad changed. He opened himself up to feelings, but he had to travel a lot outside of the village, so I didn't see him much." Sakura's eyes became unfocused as she reminisced about the old days. "One day I took a vacation and left the village for a while. I didn't know where he was, I was just going to unwind and come back. I went to a beach resort. It was really beautiful there—the sea was crystal blue, the sand was soft under my feet, beautiful flowers were everywhere. I felt like I was in a paradise." She sighed dreamily. "I was taking a long walk on the beach. There was no one around. And then I saw someone coming to me from the opposite direction."_

" _Was it Dad?" Sarada asked excitedly._

" _Yes! At first I didn't recognize him. When we finally met, I was so surprised to see him there that I didn't know what to say. We just looked at each other. He was travel-worn, dirty and tired, but he had a look in his eyes I've never seen before." Sakura's eyelids fluttered shut as she recalled that soft, warm look that he had bestowed upon her. She felt stinging behind her eyes and she blinked it away."I was so confused. Why was he there and why was he looking at me like that? I tried to ask him, but I only called his name. Then he touched my cheek and he said 'Sakura, I finally found you.' And that's when I knew... I knew that he loved me back."_

" _Mom, that's beautiful," Sarada commented in awe._

 _Despite the darkness of the room, Sakura still turned her head away, hiding her inner turmoil. She clutched a hand to her chest as if to put a dam on the unlocked emotions she tried so hard to control. Remembering hurt her immensely, but it was a bittersweet pain._

 _After a few seconds she regained her composure and could face her daughter again._

 _._

"That may be so, but it's still lying when you give her a false hope," Madara pointed out with an incredible calm. His logic snuffed out her rage and filled her veins with ice. "Your place is now here. With our family," he reminded her, not unkindly.

Sakura lowered her gaze to the half-eaten breakfast abandoned on the counter. "I know," she said in acknowledgment.

Madara leaned forward and took her small, dainty hands in his big, calloused palms.

"Sakura. Look at me." She reluctantly did. "I haven't changed my mind since then," he told her with sincerity. "She can stay with us, there's enough room for one more. And Kazuki could use a sibling."

Sakura pursed her lips unhappily. "Don't-"

"I was only saying. The point is that whether she stays or goes, it's all up to you."

He watched Sakura as she struggled with the avalanche of emotions, glimmers of which played out on her face.

Sakura missed her daughter terribly. Even if the passage of years dulled the edges, she still lived with this quiet pain of a mother deprived of her right to raise her child. Having the opportunity to stay together was so tempting.

On the other hand, Sarada grew up so well without her. She was at that age that she no longer needed her parents as much. Very soon, she was going to stretch out her wings and fly away from the safety of home. Staying with her mother would just stifle her growth. And there were other important considerations Sakura couldn't ignore...

"No." She shook her head, but her voice didn't tremble. She was sure this was the right choice. Not the easy one, but right. "She's going back to Konoha as soon as we take care of that Shin."

Madara closed his eyes as he accepted her decision. He must have expected that she wouldn't change her stance on this issue with how adamant she was about it from the start. He gently rubbed her knuckles one last time and let her hands go.

"Any news from your contact?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Not yet, but it should be soon," Sakura replied as she sank back on the stool and picked up her chopsticks.

"I don't understand why don't you just borrow one of my falcons to send a message," Madara grumbled and shoved a piece of pancake into his mouth.

"When I send a slug messenger it's more secure and it's a guarantee the message won't be intercepted," she explained with exasperation.

"But it's slow."

"Not as slow as you think. I'm sure I'll get the response soon after the moment my contact finds the information. We have to be patient."

Madara didn't insist on arguing for falcons. Instead, when he finished his food and got up to wash the dishes, he casually mentioned, "If this fails, we still have the dead clone."

He was going to keep the Shin in the basement for plan B, but Sakura's mind was already made on the matter. "About that... I want to bury him."

"Bury?" Madara queried as he dried the plate with a washcloth.

"He was still a human being. He deserves a funeral," she reasoned. She went to the sink to wash her own dirty plate, but Madara took it from her automatically and put it under the water.

"Cremate him," he said.

She frowned at this suggestion. It seemed so callous and unfeeling, but what else could she expect from the boy's killer. "It's not a problem to dig a proper grave for him," she objected.

Madara set the clean plates in the cupboard and turned to her.

"If you truly don't want anyone to raise him from the dead, it's the only way," he said wryly. He untied the apron and hang it on a peg. "And it's also the Uchiha way," he added.

Sakura stared at him in shock, but... she was overjoyed that he changed his view on the boy. Under that tough exterior, he still had a heart. Buoyed up by this proof, Sakura's feet carried her towards him.

"Madara... thank you," she said softly.

"You have nothing to thank me for," he responded, avoiding her gaze.

Sakura's lips turned up in a smile and for a moment their problems were forgotten. She reached up and wiped at the corner of his mouth.

"You had some ketchup there," she said in a teasing tone.

"I did?" he asked huskily, his arm sneakily encircling her waist and drawing her closer. He looked at her mouth with hooded eyes. Sakura's heart thumped hard and her vision narrowed only to him.

"Good mor-... ning." Sarada's untimely entrance broke the spell and Sakura hastily pulled away from Madara's hold. He didn't stop her.

"Good morning, Sarada!" Sakura greeted with a loud cheer, like it could cover up the fact that Sarada caught her in an intimate moment with a man that wasn't the girl's father. "We have pancakes for breakfast. You said you liked them yesterday. Do you prefer raspberry or strawberry jam?"

"Were you two going to kiss?" Sarada cut straight to the chase.

"What?! N-No, of course not!" Sakura vehemently denied, making lots of panicked hand gestures.

"Yes. Got a problem with that?" Madara's voice rang clear.

Sarada glared at him, face curdled like she saw something really foul. "Yeah, kissing you would be disgusting."

"Your mother doesn't think so, do you, Sakura?" Madara retorted, putting Sakura on the spot. She floundered for a second.

" _I think_ this isn't the place or time for this kind of talk," she finally said.

Madara shrugged and strode out with the air of amusement clinging to him, while Sarada gave Sakura a look of betrayal, the Sharingan inadvertently activated in her eyes.

"You said you love Dad," she hissed. "If it's true then you shouldn't kiss someone else. Especially not..." Sarada caught herself before saying something she didn't want to, "not _him_."

The unforgiving words were like a slap to the face and Sakura wilted under the judgement. "Life... isn't so simple," she croaked out, but even in her own ears that sounded just like a meaningless slogan.

Her daughter's reaction brought the old guilt crashing down on her and Sakura took the opportunity to turn away under the guise of filling a plate for Sarada. She couldn't bear to face her daughter's accusations, her disappointment. The mere thought of what Sasuke would do if they ever met again filled her with insurmountable dread. She struggled to pull herself together and not erupt in tears in the middle of the kitchen.

Sakura knew she would never be able to face Sasuke. No matter her reasons, she betrayed him and he would never forgive her.

It was just better to stay away.

Heavy silence blanketed the kitchen when Sakura served Sarada the breakfast, thankfully keeping her eyes dry. Then she told Sarada the directions to the training grounds in a subdued tone and excused herself.

Sakura's feet took her to the laboratory in the basement where she sequestered herself in her work. She would have to visit the village soon so she needed to restock her medicine. There was also the matter of preparing Shin's funeral.

Something was bothering her about him, gnawing at the back of her mind, but she couldn't put a finger on it. On a hunch, she unsealed the body to check it over again.

.

The training ground was a short distance away from the house, in the woods out back. Sarada stomped on her way there, seething with rage. Her hands were itching to form the seals for the Grand Fireball and incinerate everything in sight. It was a good thing that she had more self-control than that. Her father had hammered into her head the consequences of irresponsible practice.

Sarada found the target practice area which reminded her about Kazuki's request. However, the boy wasn't around, so she continued on until she stumbled onto a narrow forest path, which led her to the isolated, rocky beach, cut off from both sides by craggy cliffs. It was a perfect spot for some secret training.

Kazuki was right at the seashore, the waves lapping at his toes and the wind tugging at his clothes. He had his back to her and she half-circled him curiously to see what he was doing without drawing attention to herself.

To Sarada's surprise, she recognized the hand seals for the Grand Fireball jutsu. Kazuki's fingers weaved them as deftly as they wrapped the bandages, a sure sign of a long practice. The boy took in a huge breath and gathered the chakra, but when he powerfully exhaled to release the jutsu, nothing came out. He only choked on some smoke which blew out of his mouth and nostrils, then he coughed up a bit of soot. The technique was a complete failure.

Kazuki drank some water from a bottle, then assumed the stance again and attempted to perform the jutsu again. "Attempted" being a key word as once again he spectacularly failed. His cat companion who was chasing the seagulls nearby, tired out and laid on a big flat stone as he lazily observed the boy's efforts.

Sarada groaned to herself. After a few times of repeat performance she couldn't watch it anymore. Her hands sped through the seals and she blew out a giant fireball that flew over the waves before dissipating in the distance. She grimaced when she noticed that it was off target, as the strong gust of wind skewed its trajectory. Then she turned to Kazuki and put her hands on hips.

"This is how it's done," she said.

Kazuki's surprised look twisted into a scowl.

"I know how it's done!" he spat out. "Dad showed me when I had my Sharingan on."

"Then why can't you do it?" Sarada challenged, not hiding her smirk. The perfect mini-Madara wasn't so perfect after all! Ha!

"I don't know! He just said I have to practice a lot." Kazuki picked up a rock and flung it far away into the sea. He had a strong throw, if nothing else.

"No amount of practice will help if you don't have a talent," Sarada remarked.

Kazuki flinched, the look of hurt on his face making her regret her callousness, but then his expression hardened into a glare. "Says the one who still has only one tomoe in her Sharingan," he shot back and Sarada didn't feel bad anymore.

"You should just quit! You're no good at fireballs and you will never be!" she yelled at him.

"I'll never quit! I am Uchiha Kazuki and I _will_ breathe fire, even if it takes me years! Even if it kills me! You'll see!" Kazuki shouted out, scaring the seagulls away. The birds lifted off in a flurry of feathers. The boy's shoulders slumped and he was breathing heavily after his outburst.

Sarada was struck speechless by the fire in his eyes. He truly meant what he said. _Why is he trying so hard?_ she thought.

She didn't understand. In the Academy, they were taught to concentrate on their natural talents and develop them as much as possible. Focusing on a skill they weren't suited for was foolish and a waste of time. Then why was Kazuki so bent on learning the fireball jutsu when he was so hopeless at it?

She didn't get a chance to ask.

A rattle of a chain was the only warning she got. Sarada jumped into the air just in the nick of time to avoid a debilitating injury, but the sickle of the kusarigama still made a long gash on her abdomen. She fell over into the shallow water with a sharp cry of pain.

"Sarada!" Kazuki ran towards her.

"I'm fine!" she yelled as she got up, cradling her wound. "Focus on the enemy!"

A very familiar, very pale boy landed before them, twirling the kusarigama around his arm in a preparation of another strike.

"Shin?" Sarada breathed out, eyes boggled out. "But you're dead!"

"This is Shin?" Kazuki also stared, though he got hang up on a different detail. "Why does he have the Sharingan?" he asked as his own eyes also turned red.

"Does it matter?" Sarada said, readying her weapons. Her wound was stinging like crazy from the salt water that had soaked it.

"Uchiha Sarada... Come with me... and you won't be harmed," Shin said in a monotone.

"Yeah, right." Sarada snorted. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Yeah, she's not going anywhere with some creep! Not on my watch!" Kazuki added, drawing attention to himself.

"Another Sharingan... Father, what should I do?" Shin muttered seemingly to himself, but a deep disembodied voice answered, "Capture both of them. If you can't, kill the boy."

"Who said that?" Kazuki craned his head, looking around suspiciously.

"Don't get distracted!" Sarada snapped, rushing in front of him to knock back the next chain attack. With a flick of her wrist she sent a pair of kunai to pin the chain to the ground, which disarmed her opponent.

"Shin, this is taking too long. Take them out," the voice ordered.

"Yes, Father."

Shin darted for Sarada and kicked at her abdomen, targeting her vulnerable area. Sarada crossed her arms to block the attack, but its strength pushed her skidding back. Shin followed relentlessly with a combination of punches and she scrambled to defend herself. Her Sharingan tracked the assault easily, but she could barely keep up with blocking and parrying. The injury slowed her down and it was getting harder to avoid a hit.

"Sarada, stay back! I'll use a fireball!" Kazuki shouted in warning and started making the seals.

Shin jumped away from Sarada and turned to Kazuki, who instead of pretending to finish the jutsu, switched to throwing a kunai at his opponent. Shin dodged it, then rushed at Kazuki who assumed a taijutsu stance. With his Sharingan blazing, the boy entered a speedy exchange of punches and kicks with his emotionless opponent.

Sarada used the time bought to her by Kazuki to rip off a sleeve from her blue shirt and bind her wound. After that she jumped back into the fray. She went to punch Shin from behind, but in one smooth motion he turned aside, grabbed her by the wrist and arm, and hurtled her at Kazuki. They both fell on the rocks in a heap.

Sarada scrambled up on her knees, too sluggish for her own taste, and checked on the boy. He was knocked out cold.

"Kazuki? Kazuki!" she called his name and shook him. This was no time for a nap!

Then she noticed the blood trickling from under his head on the larger stone he fell on. Her eyes widened in horror. Sarada glanced back at the enemy, but curiously Shin stayed back instead of pressing on with another attack. She used the time to rip off her other sleeve, intending to wrap Kazuki's head injury, but her fingers started shaking uncontrollably and she had trouble focusing her vision. Making a knot with the fabric became downright impossible. Sarada wondered if she scraped her head too.

"The poison finally kicked in. Good job, Shin," the voice commented.

"What?" Sarada slurred. Turning around felt like she was unscrewing her head from the shoulders.

The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the small creature with the Sharingan bursting from beneath the ground and opening a whirling portal which swallowed her whole.

.

When the three people disappeared from the beach, Shiro trotted to the last place where Kazuki had been. The cat didn't understand where his human had gone, but he knew that the boy needed help. Shiro put the bloodied blue scrap of fabric, which was left behind on the rocks, into his mouth and ran to the house as fast as his little paws could take him.

.

.

AN: Hello, readers! This chapter returns us to the larger plot. I packed it full of things that I thought were interesting and cool. What did you like the best?

Here's a fun fact: Madara didn't make the Japanese-style pancakes because he couldn't find the ring mold.

Please tell me what you thought about the chapter :)


	11. Chapter 11

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 11**

 **.**

Sarada woke up with a pounding headache and a dry mouth. She let out a small groan and attempted to shift into a more comfortable position, but her right arm was restrained. She glanced up in alarm and saw that she was handcuffed to a metal headboard. Trying to tug her arm free proved futile and only caused a loud rattle which made her headache worse.

The girl began to slide her body up the mattress to sit, when a throb of pain in her middle reminded her of her wound. She looked down her body. Her shirt was bunched up, exposing the bare stomach and the long ugly gash which someone stitched up with thick black thread. Sarada gagged at the horrific sight. It was hideous, it was nauseating, it was _on her body_ and she wanted it gone! Close to hyperventilating, she shut her eyes, but the image wouldn't go away.

Well, at least she still had her glasses on to see it, she thought hysterically.

When she calmed down a little, she swallowed and risked a second look. This time she noticed more details. The sutures were big, but uncannily even. Whoever treated her wasn't an amateur. The swollen, red skin around the wound worried Sarada. She was a little afraid to touch it, but in the end she skimmed her fingertips lightly over it. The skin was hot and tender to the touch. She had no clue if this meant the wound was healing normally or if it was a sign of infection which would eventually kill her.

This made her need to escape all the more pressing.

Sarada managed to carefully sit up, enduring the tearing sensation in the wound with a deep wince. In the dimly lit room there was nothing except two cots and the one on Sarada's right was occupied by unconscious Kazuki, also handcuffed to the headboard.

"Hey! Wake up!" Sarada hissed, not too loudly. She didn't want someone outside to come investigate because of the noise. When the boy didn't react, she reached out with her leg and prodded his side. Her pokes got harder until she struck between his ribs by accident. The jolt of pain roused the boy.

He groaned weakly before opening his eyes. "Where," he started, but a cough interrupted him. "Where am I?" he asked disoriented.

"We were kidnapped and imprisoned by Shin, so this must be his hideout," Sarada told him.

"Sarada? It's you?" Kazuki muttered. When she confirmed, he added, "I can't see you well. It's so misty."

"How's your head? You hit it very hard," she said with concern.

"It hurts."

Sarada nodded. "You must have a concussion, then."

"That's... bad," Kazuki said in a questioning tone.

"Yes, it's bad. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Beach. Waves. Fighting? Yes, we were fighting... that guy."

"His name is Shin and he kidnapped us," Sarada told him. She was secretly glad that Kazuki didn't mention their argument before Shin's attack. She'd rather he forgot all about it. "Is it too much to hope you would happen to have a lockpick on you?"

"A lockpick?" Kazuki winced from concentrating too much. He rubbed his temple. "No, I don't think so. My head really hurts. Sorry," he said guiltily.

"That's okay, I'll just think of something else to get us out of here," Sarada reassured him. If there was ever a time she regretted cutting her hair instead of growing it long and pinning it up with lots of bobby pins which she could use to pick the lock, that was that time.

Kazuki suddenly gasped. "Sarada, you were hurt too!" he remembered, squinting at her middle. He had no adverse reaction, so he probably didn't see the wound well.

"Don't worry, I'm fine now. Someone stitched it up."

"That's a relief. I thought..." Kazuki held back from finishing that line and instead changed the topic. "How are we going to escape? I'm thirsty."

"I'm working on it," Sarada muttered. "Now stay quiet and let me think."

Even with her legs free, she couldn't do much. The rope releasing jutsu didn't work on metal handcuffs. Her only chance was for Shin to come back and be stupid enough to let her out.

"This is boring," Kazuki said after a very long while.

"What, getting captured and imprisoned by some criminal? If you think it's supposed to be exciting, you watched too many movies," Sarada replied snarkily. She actually welcomed the reprieve from the oppressive silence. She'd already walked herself in circles thinking of possible solutions and came up with nothing. "Ow! Why did you do that?!" she cried out when she received a well placed kick to her thigh. She massaged her leg, glaring at Kazuki, who glared back.

"You know why."

"Enlighten me," she mocked.

Kazuki kicked out again, but she was prepared and blocked it with her hand which tingled from the strength of the attack.

"Stop acting so high and mighty," he gritted out. "It's not like you've ever been kidnapped either. And I never said anything about movies, you just made that up by yourself."

"You have a Kagemasa poster in your room," Sarada pointed out. Kagemasa was a popular ninja action film hero.

"You were in my room?!"

"Just opened the door by accident. I only had a quick look, didn't even come inside. Calm down, sheesh," Sarada said nonchalantly.

Kazuki pursed his lips in displeasure and looked away from her.

They sat in a tense silence, which made Sarada reflect on her behaviour and feel steadily worse and worse about it.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. Kazuki pointedly ignored her. "I was mean because... I'm worried," she admitted. He glanced at her and she continued. "I don't know how long we've been here. Or what Shin wants from us. Does anyone even know we were kidnapped? Is anyone looking for us? What if they're too late?" She poured out her worries and it felt strangely good to just let it out and talk. Kazuki didn't interrupt her but she saw him listening intently. "That's why we have to escape as soon as possible. We need to devise a strategy for when Shin comes here."

"Sarada... you..." Kazuki struggled with what to say. "I agree about escaping, but... you really shouldn't worry so much."

She looked at him sharply. Didn't he hear what she'd said? She had plenty of reasons to worry.

"Why? You think Kagemasa is going to show up and save us? This isn't a film, this is reality!"

Kazuki shook his head. "I know all of that. Of course Kagemasa isn't coming. Someone much better is."

"Like who?"

"My dad."

Sarada gaped at him in disbelief. Was he for real? "Your dad is strong, but he's not magic."

"He's the strongest shinobi in the world, thousand times better than Kagemasa and all the Kages combined. He will find us," Kazuki said with absolute certainty. "Mom will come too. So everything's going to be alright." He laid down on his back, getting as comfortable as he could while handcuffed to the bed.

To Sarada, Kazuki's unshakeable faith in Madara was unbelievable. Though... it made sense that Madara would look for his own son. If it was only her who was kidnapped, he probably wouldn't lift a finger. And because of him Dad would never come for her... Maybe Mom would have come... but Madara could have stopped her and then...

Sarada's throat closed up as her thoughts spiraled down and down, her fingers clenching into the linen. She was hunched over, hiding her face from Kazuki.

Heavy footsteps outside reminded her of the escape plan. Kazuki also sat up in anticipation.

The door quietly creaked as it opened and a tall figure entered the room. Sarada was momentarily confused. This wasn't the Shin she knew.

"I see you're both awake," the man said in a gravelly voice.

"Who are you? And what do you want from us?" Sarada asked.

"My name is Uchiha Shin."

"Like the boy Shin?" she asked suspiciously.

The man chuckled. It sounded like two rocks striking each other. "No, he is named like me. He's my perfect clone, made from my flesh," the adult Shin explained. "As for what I want—right now just your cooperation. In broader terms, I want revenge against Uchiha Sasuke and Konoha."

Sarada didn't like how he said 'cooperation'. She needed to keep him talking and figure out a way to escape.

"What do you have against my father? He's a good person and a respectable shinobi."

Shin snorted. "Respectable? You have no idea about his crimes, do you?"

He came closer to her bed and Sarada gasped in horror and revulsion. He was pale and hairless, like a white worm. Two blood red Sharingan eyes were boring into her—one cool and calculating, the other gaping from a hole in his head stretched with stitches all around it. That eye was sick and mad. It looked like someone took an eight ball, fused it with a Sharingan and shoved it into the man's eye socket. Three more Sharingan were sticking out of his head where no eye should ever be. Sarada trembled and shrank back from him.

"Am I disgusting to you?" Shin asked. "It's just a flesh vessel. I will never be as disgusting as your father who betrayed the Akatsuki and killed his own brother."

"That's not true!" Sarada cried out.

"All he ever told you were lies. Itachi was a true visionary, he saw the way to the evolution of mankind. He knew only the strong deserve to survive and conflict is needed for our species."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Itachi showed us all the way. He made the first step by wiping out his pathetic clan and joining Akatsuki. And Sasuke," the man said the name with pure malice, "squandered it all for the sake of a simple revenge!" Shin took a breath to calm down. "I thought there was still hope when he joined Akatsuki, that he understood Itachi's message and decided to continue the work in his stead. But all he did was to use the power he gained by killing his brother to destroy everything Akatsuki and Itachi strived for! He will never be forgiven!"

"No..." Sarada said weakly, shaking her head. She could hardly believe what he told her. Her dead uncle, the war hero Itachi, the man her father spoke of with the highest reverence... was a clan-killer? Her father had murdered her uncle and joined the Akatsuki? But it all made a horrible sort of sense. The old woman Hanae in the village had mentioned that Itachi had murdered the Uchiha clan, so this couldn't be just a delusion of a lunatic.

"Whatever her dad did, it has nothing to do with her! So leave her alone!" Kazuki spoke up for the first time since Shin came. "You should just let us go if you know what's good for you."

The man looked at him and tilted his head as all of his eyes swiveled to look at the boy. "You're the other Uchiha."

"So what?" Kazuki asked. His Sharingan also activated defensively.

"You are Madara's brat and Madara buried so many secrets underground. Secrets that didn't belong to him." Shin went around Sarada's bed to approach the boy until he was standing between both beds. A very soft jingle came from around his waist and Sarada realized that he had keys on him.

Shin reached into his cloak's pocket and both children tensed up, expecting a weapon, but he only pulled out a metal box. "Inside this box there is a treasure that Itachi left behind."

Shin's Sharingan transformed into a big black dot with three spikes coming out of it. A razor blade came out of his sleeve and levitated, glinting sharply. "All I need is Uchiha blood to unlock the seal and you both have it. So who will help me?"

The razor aimed at Sarada who watched it wide-eyed and pale, then it turned to Kazuki. It became swinging like a pendulum as it pondered who to choose as its target. They both froze in fright. There was nowhere to run, nothing to defend themselves with.

"No volunteers? Then it's going to be... you!" Shin struck out like a snake and grabbed Kazuki's free arm.

"No!" Sarada screamed.

"Let me go!" Kazuki shouted and thrashed, trying to slip out of the hold. His handcuffs were banging against the headboard, creating a lot of noise. Shin just ignored this and pulled up his wrist.

He wasn't looking at Sarada who was behind him. She used his moment of distraction to stealthily reach out towards his waist. Her left arm was stretched out taut as she frantically skimmed around for the keys.

"Shut up and stop moving," Shin said, his blade pointed right at Kazuki's green eye with a clear threat. The boy gulped and settled down.

The only sound was Kazuki's heavy, panicked breathing as the flying blade neared his wrist and sank into his flesh. Then it slowly cut across it and the blood flowed out of the vein and down his forearm.

Shin smeared the boy's blood on the lid of the box. The seal glowed green and the symbols furled inwards. The box was unlocked.

The moment Shin released Kazuki's bleeding arm, the boy snatched it back and cradled it to his chest. His whole body was shaking like a leaf.

Shin didn't spare him a second look, completely absorbed by his treasure. He opened the lid and peered inside. "It's here..." he breathed out with reverence and took out the object.

Sarada strained to see the thing from behind his back. When Shin raised it to his face, her mouth dropped open.

He kidnapped them and hurt Kazuki just for a _hand mirror_? If she could, she would have grabbed it and smashed it to the ground out of sheer spite.

"What's so great about it?" she asked bitterly. "It's just a mirror."

Shin faced her and smiled, revealing the revolting sight of his pink gums. He had no teeth. How could someone not have any teeth? Sarada grimaced.

"It's not just any mirror. It's one of the Three Imperial Regalia, the Yata mirror! With this I will become undefeated!" Shin chuckled maniacally.

A loud boom was heard and a shock wave rocked the whole room, almost knocking him off his feet. He dropped the opened box on the floor.

"Father, we're under attack," a boy Shin came in with the message which he said without any emotion.

"I know that! I will take care of this! Come!" adult Shin ordered and ran out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

When Sarada was sure he wasn't coming back, she breathed out a sigh of relief. Then she opened her palm which had been hiding the keys she had swiped off Shin. She found the key for handcuffs and freed herself, then Kazuki.

"Show me your hand," she told him as she tore off a strip off a bedsheet. "I need to wrap it." She gently pried it away from his chest, where she noticed he left a huge bloody stain. She bound the cut nicely and tied it with a neat bow. "All better," she said, trying to sound upbeat. "Now let's get the hell out of this place."

Kazuki rubbed at his wet eyes and nodded. "Yeah." Then he blew his nose on the bedsheet.

She helped him up off the bed. When they were going to go, her foot jostled the forgotten box and she almost tripped over it. A scroll rolled out of the box. On an impulse, Sarada pocketed it. To answer Kazuki's inquisitive look, she shrugged.

"This might come in handy," she explained. "Let's go."

They cracked the door open and carefully peeked outside. The coast was clear. Getting out of their jail room was the first step and easily accomplished. Now they only had to find the exit, but the cave-like corridor wasn't marked with any arrows for directions, so the choice was between going towards the fighting noises or away from them.

Sarada was in no condition to get involved in any fight, even as a bystander, so she went the other way. Logically no one would be there if Shin and his clone were taking care of intruders. Kazuki tugged her arm.

"We should go to see who came for us."

"How do you know someone came for us and it's not just some other enemy of Shin?" she asked. "We should find the way out on our own."

"But that first hit sounded just like Mom," Kazuki objected stubbornly.

"Mom?" Sarada asked, intrigued despite herself. She didn't know much about her mother's powers, except that she was a medic-nin.

"Yeah, she..." Kazuki didn't finish because a door on the left opened and a clone Shin came out. "Another one?!"

Sarada rushed at the equally surprised Shin and shoved him into the wall. His head bounced off it with a cracking sound and he slid to the floor unconscious. Sarada quickly went through his pockets and found scrolls with weapons, but no shuriken or kunai. She swore.

"Sarada!" Kazuki yelled in warning and she looked up. Another Shin was in the doorway and pulling his arm back to attack. Without thinking, she threw the scrolls in his face and jumped back. She grabbed Kazuki's hand.

"Run!" She pulled him forward, but the next door opened and more Shins flooded the corridor, cutting off their escape route.

"How come there's so many of them?!" Kazuki exclaimed.

"I don't know but we need to go!" Sarada replied, turning around.

They ran back the way they came from, dodging the sharp blades thrown at them by the Shins. Suddenly, a pain cut through her calf and she stumbled with a surprised cry. A blade was lodged in her leg. Sarada pulled it out with a hiss and sent it back to its owner, hitting the clone in the center of the chest. His fall slowed down the rest of the pursuing group.

Sarada tried to continue running, but the leg wound prevented it and if not for Kazuki catching her, she would have also fallen down. He swung her arm around his shoulder and they took off again—Kazuki jogging and Sarada hopping on the uninjured leg. The boy glanced back.

"Faster!" he panted out and they upped the pace.

The sounds of fighting were close. The kids ran into a lab room with one wall turned into rubble and without even speaking they headed for the hole and jumped outside.

Shin's hideout was much bigger than they expected. The part they escaped from was situated inside a giant central pillar in an enormous cave. A red lake covered a part of the cave's floor.

And on the other side of that lake they saw two people battling Shin who was protecting himself from their attacks with a red shield technique.

"Mom! Dad!" Kazuki yelled.

All three turned towards them and Sarada felt a foreboding drop in her stomach. She looked back at the group of clones that spilled out of the lab. Outside of the corridors, they had room to attack at the same time and as if on command, they all pulled out their weapons.

"Father's order... Get rid of the intruders..." they said in unison.

The hopelessness of the situation reached her then. She couldn't run anymore and the help was too far away to save both her and Kazuki. Sarada swallowed, then gritted her teeth and took a firm stance. "I need you to run," she said lowly to Kazuki.

"What?! I can't leave you!"

"No arguing! I can't run anyway, so just go! I'll distract them!"

With a deep breath, Sarada created a shadow clone and then together they flew through the familiar hand signs.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique!"

The two fireballs merged and created a firewall that stopped the first barrage of weapons, but Sarada knew this would only give her a small time window. Her clone poofed away right after the jutsu drained it from chakra. "Now run!" Sarada shouted at Kazuki.

"Not without you!" he said stubbornly, then lifted her up and over his shoulder and took off. Sarada cried out as this put a pressure on her stomach wound.

"Put me down!" she hissed angrily, but Kazuki didn't listen. "We're both going to get killed!" She was only weighing him down. Facing behind, she saw the smoke from her fireballs being blown away and the Shins rushing after them. The next wave of weapons was sent towards them and with her Sharingan activated, she already predicted all of their trajectories. No matter what she or Kazuki did now, they were both going to get hit multiple times.

Sarada stared at a windmill shuriken whirling towards her. She knew that in exactly two seconds it was going to take out her right eye and massacre the rest of her face.

But it didn't.

A giant purple hand sprang seemingly out of nowhere and swatted away all of the weapons like they were just children's toys. Before Sarada could make sense of that, Kazuki abruptly skidded to a halt.

"Who-who are you?!" he asked.

Sarada craned her neck back to see who he was talking to. Her eyes widened and she pushed herself out of the fireman's hold and dropped to the ground. Her wounded leg throbbed, her stomach hurt from the jolt, but she didn't care.

"Dad!" she cried out and ran to the man she thought was dead. She fell into him, sobbing, and hugged him tightly around the middle. He was real, solid and warm and he smelled like Papa. This was really him.

"Sarada." The relief in his voice washed over her. He gently stroked her head and held her close to his chest and for a few precious seconds she heard his heartbeat thump reassuringly before he let her go. Her father leaned down and looked at her seriously. "Tell me who hurt you."

"Uchiha Shin, but that's the least important now! I found Mom! She's fighting Shin with Madara!" Sarada told him, brimming with excitement.

"Sasukeee! I told you not to rush ahead without me!" The orange-clad man joined them.

"Seventh!" Sarada said with a smile. Uncle was alive too!

"Sarada!" Naruto grinned. "And... who is this kid?" he asked, noticing Kazuki.

"That doesn't matter," Sasuke said impatiently. "Sakura and Madara are here."

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto looked around and took stock of the situation. His expression became serious. "Sasuke, what are you going to do?"

Sasuke unsheathed his sword and started walking towards the main battle. Towards Sakura. "What I should've done a long time ago."

.

.

AN: I think the only one who was surprised at Sasuke and Naruto being alive is Sarada lol. The second arc is nearing its climax with all important characters gathered at one place! I'm still thinking whose POV I should use in the next chapter.

Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter: KassfromVenus, ollia, Lazy to log in, and NinaChiery. Without you all, it would have been much harder for me to finish this one.

Thanks for reading and please let me know how you liked the chapter! Until next time :)


	12. Chapter 12

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 12**

 **.**

Uchiha Sasuke wasn't an easy to read man. Through age and experience he perfected his control over his emotions. It didn't include only something as simple as keeping a poker face, which he could do well enough in his younger days. Hiding his emotions was useful without a doubt, but if they were ignored long enough, they festered and grew into something monstrous and uncontrollable, causing a person to lash out and do things they would later regret. Sasuke had hurt those who cared for him because of his overpowering hatred and he could never quite forgive himself for that. That's why after the Fourth Shinobi War he had drilled himself in self-discipline in order to never let his emotions rule his judgment.

Which is why he curbed down his urge to run Madara through with his blade. The rogue Uchiha wasn't the enemy at the moment, not to mention that he was safely encased in his Perfect Susanoo. Instead of pointlessly attacking him, Sasuke surveyed the battlefield with an expert eye.

The craters and cracked stone floor were Sakura's work, while scorch marks came from Madara's fire techniques. However, their opponent, Shin, looked completely unharmed, safely hidden in the protection of a red chakra shield as he attacked the pair remotely with his weapons. His Mangekyo granted him this unique ability of telekinesis.

Sasuke frowned, watching as Sakura got close enough to punch the shield. She bellowed her battle cry and hit it dead center with her inhuman strength. To all logic, the shield should have crumbled, but it stubbornly stayed intact. The more Sasuke looked at it, the more he was convinced he'd seen it somewhere before.

"Foolish! You will never break through the legendary Yata mirror!" Shin shouted out. Sasuke's eyebrow shot up. He would dearly like to know how this guy got his hands on the same artifact that had belonged to Itachi.

Shin's weapons cut through the air aiming for Sakura. Her body danced as she dodged the attacks with a breathtaking grace, then she smashed her fist again into the shield. It trembled from the force of that punch, but held out.

"We'll see! Constant dropping wears away a stone!" she replied confidently, causing Sasuke to smirk.

In answer more sharp blades rained on her, but a thick tree branch sprouted out of the ground and caught the attack. Sakura used that opportunity to get another shot in. This time the Yata mirror instead of repelling and negating the punch, was pushed back a short distance to Shin's visible shock. Sakura grinned ferociously.

"A few more and I will get you, you child-kidnapping bastard!" she said right into his face through the now dubious protection. She knocked on it for a good measure and the shield moved back a few meters.

Shin clenched his jaw in resolve and made a handsign. "You're a nuisance!" he growled.

Pipes burst out from underneath the ground and swung at Sakura. She was weaving her body to avoid the whips that would break a lesser ninja, but she didn't have a Sharingan that would warn her of the more complex attack. When one pipe slashed low at her legs, Sakura jumped up and was caught between two pipes that came from opposite sides and wrapped around her tightly, squeezing the breath out of her. Sasuke heard the cracking of her ribs and the pained gasp falling from her lips.

Then he _moved_.

In a blink, his Chidori blade slashed through the pipes restraining her like a knife through butter and he caught her in his arms before she fell to the ground. Sakura grunted when the movement jarred her ribs, then she looked up at him as he put the distance between them and Shin.

Her beautiful eyes rounded in shock when they met his gaze. He smirked slightly. She was still so expressive and open in front of him.

"Sasuke-kun..." she murmured his name with that special inflection she always used and something warm unfurled in his chest.

"Sakura," he said. He stopped behind a minimal protection of an upturned boulder. "You should heal yourself."

"I can manage for now." His smirk disappeared when she turned her face away from him. She extricated herself from his hold and he reluctantly let her go, despite something inside him twisting in protest. Sasuke frowned.

"Sarada and the other child are injured," he told her. "Naruto's keeping an eye on them."

"Good," she sighed with relief. "Then we just need to take Shin out first." She peeked out from behind the boulder. Sasuke joined her. Tree roots and branches summoned by Madara's Wood Style pounded away relentlessly at the Yata mirror.

"What's your strategy?" Sasuke gave up on his idea of sending Sakura to safety with Naruto and children.

"Battle of attrition. That shield is unbreakable but he can't sustain it forever," Sakura explained with her eyes purposely glued to the battle.

"If you punched it with all your strength, you could've broken it," Sasuke pointed out.

"And brought this whole cave down on all of us? I think not." She still refused to look at him and it was starting to piss him off.

He put a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. "Sakura, after this is over-"

"Don't... Not now," she cut him off in a tremulous voice as she shook her head. He cupped her cheek and looked her in the eye.

"You're my wife. And this time I'm taking you back," he declared. He took personal satisfaction in the subtle rouge colouring her cheeks.

Sasuke released his hold on Sakura and walked out back on the battlefield. The purple ribcage of Susanoo materialized around him and Sakura and grew into a chakra guardian. Susanoo arched the bow and fired an arrow at the Yata mirror, hitting it too high.

"Tch," Sasuke made a disgruntled sound. It was time for some target practice.

Another arrow hit the red shield with better accuracy, the next one was dead center as well as all the other shots. Shin attempted a counterattack, but similarly as in Madara's case, his weapons couldn't penetrate Susanoo. Sweat gathered on his brow and his breathing became laboured. They all could see that he was weakening.

And the moment he ran out of juice to keep up the shield active, he was a dead man.

Shin realized that tables had turned on him. His many implanted eyes swiveled, looking for a way out.

"Uchiha Sasuke, this is the first part of my revenge!" he yelled, forming his own gigantic arrow from pipes and blades, then fired it at the other side of the lake. Towards Naruto and the children.

Sarada!

Sasuke's Susanoo bolted after the arrow. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the blue glow of Madara's Susanoo keeping pace with his as they both made troughs on the lake surface behind them, water spraying high on the sides in their wake.

He didn't know if he would make it, but there was still the last line of defense—Naruto. The Hokage took a protective stance in front of the children, shrouded in his Kyuubi cloak. The chakra arms sprouted out of it and headed for Shin's arrow intending to deflect it, but never reached it.

Naruto lost his concentration when he abruptly turned to the left and slapped away a normal-sized arrow that somehow penetrated his chakra cloak and would have pierced his heart. However, he didn't manage to defend against the second shot that lanced through his knee. Naruto collapsed on his side in excruciating pain, but then Shin's attack was already upon him. All he could do was to increase the density of his chakra cloak and wait for the impact.

The large mass of Shin's projectile crashed into the ground with a resounding boom, sending debris into the air. The cloud of dust covered the area from sight, then it was blown away by the wings of the two Susanoo.

The blue and purple guardians took some damage—the blow obliterated their arms and smashed their chests in. Despite that, what mattered the most was that they served their purpose.

"Dad!" Sarada cried out in relief.

"Sa...suke... thanks for the save..." Naruto could barely speak through the pain.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder.

"Idiot, how did you get hit? Aren't you the Hokage?" he asked bluntly.

"Shut up..." Naruto replied without any bite. "There's someone else out there... hiding with sage chakra... I can't sense him."

Sasuke absorbed this unsettling information. There were very few sage arts practitioners as it was a ridiculously difficult skill to obtain, so someone using this kind of power with malicious intent didn't bode well. His Rinnegan swept around the vast cave, looking for the sage chakra emanation, but either the attacker could hide even from this eye (very unlikely) or they were already gone.

Naruto gave out a pained grunt.

"Seventh, your knee! If you pull out that arrow, you'll bleed out!" Sarada sounded worried. His young daughter had never been exposed to such gruesome sights as battlefield injuries. Sasuke felt a pang of regret at the realization that he wouldn't be able to protect her from the ugly side of shinobi life for much longer.

"I'll be fine... Already healing it..." Naruto reassured her.

"Ah! Where's Kazuki? He was right next to me!" she gasped, frantically searching for the boy that had been with her before.

Sasuke mentally jotted down the child's name.

"Madara has the boy with him," he informed her.

"So he's okay... I'm glad," Sarada said, calming down.

Sasuke turned back the Susanoo and glided across the lake. He still had unfinished business with Shin. The former Orochimaru's experiment tried his patience too many times. His every action was an affront to the Uchiha name that the man had the gall to use. Madara must have had the same idea as Sasuke as the blue Susanoo carried him in the same direction.

The red shield flickered, once, twice, then disappeared as the chakra flow ran dry. Shin staggered in fatigue, trying to escape.

"You're not going anywhere! Shannaro!" Sakura flash-stepped in front of Shin and punched him in the gut, pulverizing his insides. The man crashed into one of the pillars and coughed up blood. Then, despite his wrecked state, he smirked.

"You got me this time... but this isn't the end. This is just the beginning of my plans..." he said ominously.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, taken aback by his confidence in the face of defeat. "Big talk from a loser like you," she replied evenly.

"Heh..."

A small blob-like creature with the implanted Mangekyo eye hopped out of the dimensional rift. Sasuke rushed forward, remembering how Shin had gotten away with space-time transportation jutsu from their first encounter.

Again, he was too far away to prevent it. He clenched his jaw in frustration as the black swirl sucked in both Shin and his minion.

Sakura swore, voicing also his thoughts.

Both Susanoo landed beside her and dispersed, letting their passengers down gently. Sasuke eyed Madara and the boy—Kazuki, he remembered—with caution. Madara was still uninjured and battle-ready, while Sasuke had two wounded under his protection. If he wanted to achieve his goal, the ancient Uchiha would become a major obstacle.

The moment his feet touched the ground, the boy shot towards Sakura like a bullet.

"Mom!" he cried out joyously. "I knew you'd come for us!"

Mom... Sasuke tasted that word slowly. It confirmed what he'd already suspected when he'd seen the boy's Sharingan. He'd instantly known this was Madara's son, but he didn't want to believe that Sakura was the mother.

Sakura avoided the boy's tackle and held her hands in front of her. "No hugging, my ribs are broken," she explained with a smile.

"How bad is it? Does it hurt much?" Kazuki grew concerned.

"Don't worry, I'll heal." Sakura ruffled his hair and looked him over with her expert medic eyes. "Were you hurt?"

"Just a cut, nothing serious," Kazuki raised his wrist bound with a makeshift bandage. "Sarada wrapped it for me. She's got it much worse than me anyway. Come on, you have to heal her." The boy took Sakura's hand and dragged her towards Sarada.

Sasuke swallowed hard. His heart was heavy as he watched Sakura with Kazuki. More and more things from the past seemed to fall into place as if he found the missing piece of the puzzle.

 _It's been five years since the last time he'd seen his wife. He'd been searching for her relentlessly. All the clues he managed to find all pointed to her being kidnapped by a man presumed to be dead—Uchiha Madara. For what purpose, he had no idea, but he feared what would happen to her when she outlived her usefulness._

 _This particular mission to the Crescent Country wasn't part of his search. He was there on behest of the Hokage. Walking through a local village, he didn't expect to glimpse pink hair under a hood. His heart jumped into his throat._

 _Sakura!_

 _Sasuke squashed his first instinct to call out to her. He had to make sure there was no mistake. Pink hair was uncommon, but Sakura couldn't be the only one with this particular shade. He followed the woman from a distance, however she quickened her pace. When she ducked into an alley, he went after her._

 _The woman grabbed his collar and slammed him into a wall._

" _What do you- Sasuke-kun?!" she exclaimed and her grip slackened._

 _Sasuke took her in, so similar and yet changed by the time. She appeared to be in a good health, but her eyes were tired in a way that had nothing to do with physical exhaustion._

" _So it's really you, Sakura," he said, fingering a lock of her hair. She grew it out._

 _For a moment they just stared at each other, entranced. Sasuke drank in his wife's sight, his arm circling around her back and pulling her into a close embrace. With a sob, Sakura buried her face in his neck, her slender body clinging to him. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent deeply, feeling truly content for the first time in years._

" _Sarada missed you," he murmured in her ear. "We all missed you."_ I missed you _went unspoken._

 _Sakura tightened her grip on him a fraction, before releasing it altogether. She stepped back carefully and a mask of composure slipped back on her face._

" _Why are you here?" she asked. "Is someone else with you?"_

" _I'm on a mission, but others are at the hotel now. It doesn't matter," he said dismissively. "I finally found you. Let's go home." He took her hand but she snatched it back._

" _Sasuke-kun, I can't... There's someone-"_

" _I know about Madara," he cut her off crisply. "I can take care of him. He'll never hurt you again."_

 _She shook her head. "It's not that! And he didn't hurt me."_

 _Sasuke frowned. Things didn't add up. "Then tell me what's this about," he demanded, taking a step closer. She backed away._

" _Sakura."_

 _They both turned towards the owner of this deep, familiar voice. Madara was standing at the mouth of the alley, cloaked in shadow. His gaze passed over Sasuke in disinterest, only a slight curl of his lips acknowledging the younger Uchiha's presence._

" _Come," Madara addressed Sakura shortly._

" _She's not going anywhere with you." Sasuke stepped in between them, shielding Sakura from Madara's view. His sole hand rested on the handle of his sword ready to draw it in a flash._

" _Is that so?" Madara sounded_ amused _of all things, like the notion was just ludicrous to him. "How about you let her decide who she wants to come with?"_

" _She's my wife," Sasuke stated. Obviously she'd rather go home with him than this kidnapping madman._

" _Is she really?" Madara mocked. Sasuke would have ignored this as a taunt calculated to take him off guard, if not for Sakura's reaction._

" _Madara, stop that!" she snapped, coming from behind Sasuke to stand between them._

" _Sakura, what is he talking about?"_

 _She swallowed. "Sasuke-kun, this isn't what you think..." she began defensively, but all he saw in her eyes spoke of guilt._

" _If you won't tell him, I will," Madara said. "By the Uchiha clan law, when a wife of a lower-ranked clansman willingly lives under the same roof with a higher-ranked clansman and performs all the duties of the wife towards him for longer than a year, her previous marriage is annulled and she becomes the legal wife of the higher-ranked clansman."_

 _Sasuke didn't want to believe this. It sounded like bullshit, but the way both of them acted lent credibility to the claim. On top of that, Madara had been the clan leader in his time. Sasuke wasn't versed in the clan law as he hadn't seen any need to learn it when he was the last living Uchiha._

" _Sakura, is this true?" he asked lowly, searching her face for a sign that this was all just a lie._

 _She looked down. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun!" She was crying openly now, her shoulders shaking with grief. "I had no idea..."_

" _Sakura, leave him. We have to go," Madara said. She rubbed at her eyes and nodded, turning to him obediently. A surge of ice cold anger swelled inside Sasuke, sweeping away everything else and filling him only with purpose._

" _Wait!" he called out, as sharp as a knife. Sakura stopped mid-step at the sheer command in his tone. "I don't care about some outdated laws that may or may not be true. I'm only here to take_ mywife _back."_

 _If Madara thought he was going to give up on Sakura for such a weak reason, he had another thing coming. Sasuke sent a Chidori current to hopefully electrocute Madara while his hand reached to snag Sakura and exit the stage. Instead of going along with him, she surprised him by evading his grab. He lunged again and she deflected._

" _Sakura, what are you doing?" he hissed._

" _I can't go with you now," she replied. A kunai whizzed and pinned his only hand to the wall. "I'm sorry," she said again, eyes full of remorse. She turned her back to him and went to Madara, who came out of the Chidori attack no worse for the wear._

" _Sakura, don't! Sakura!" Sasuke shouted after her, trashing. If he'd had his other hand, he could have easily pulled out the kunai and pursued them. Trapped, he was sentenced to watching his love walk away from him with a man whom he despised._

 _Sasuke slumped in defeat, numbness spreading through him. The same thought that had plagued him all these years came back to haunt him—it was his own fault. He shouldn't have left Sakura and baby Sarada alone back then. He should have never gone to investigate the remnants of Kaguya's chakra._

 _He should have put his family first over nonexistent threats. Because he had found nothing and when he'd come back home—there was also nothing._

 _Sasuke finally managed to free his hand when he noticed that a piece of paper was wrapped around the kunai's handle. With a flash of renewed hope, he opened the message. It contained two things—a date and a place, messily scrawled in Sakura's handwriting. Sasuke kept re-reading it even after he already engraved the information in his memory._

 _If Sakura wanted to meet him in secret, not all was lost._

 _Meanwhile he scoured the village for clues about her presence there. She had been interested in the local medicine and treatments, but he had a hunch this wasn't the main reason of her and Madara's visit in the area._

 _On the appointed day, Sasuke waited for Sakura in the popular roadhouse in the Hot Springs Country from early morning to the midnight. She didn't come, so he waited one more day. Two days. Three._

 _He didn't budge until Naruto himself came to get him two weeks later._

 _Even though she didn't show up, he was convinced that it wasn't by her own choice. Madara kept her from him._

Sasuke came to the present with a blink. Sakura was healing Sarada's injuries. His daughter shot him furtive glances over her mother's shoulder, like she was trying to signal him to do something. Sasuke gave her a slight nod and she brightened.

He clenched his left hand, making sure it was there. He'd had the prosthetic attached shortly after his return from the roadhouse. It was ironic that for so long he'd refused to do this despite Sakura's urgings and it had taken his failure to rescue her for him to accept the arm as necessary to achieve his goal.

"Thanks, mom," Sarada said when the last of her injuries disappeared.

"You're welcome," Sakura smiled at her daughter and brushed her hair back.

"Kazuki, Sakura. We're leaving," Madara announced suddenly.

The boy went to his father without protest, but Sakura hesitated under Sarada's pleading look. Sasuke silently took his position and caught Naruto's eye. The Hokage nodded to him.

"Mom? You coming?" the boy called, sensing something was wrong.

Sasuke looked intently at Sakura. She exhaled softly, then her spine straightened. She was steeling herself to do this again... to leave him, to leave their family.

But this time, he wouldn't let her.

"I'm sorry, Sarada, but it's time for me to go," she said sadly and turned to the waiting Madara and Kazuki.

"NO!" Sarada burst out loudly before Sakura could take a single step. "You can't go! We are your real family! Did you know Dad never stopped looking for you?! He missed you so much, everyday! And I missed you too!"

"Stop..." Sakura whispered.

"Why can't you just stay with us?! You said you love me and Dad! Was that just a lie?!" Sarada shouted out desperately.

"Sarada!" Sakura thundered and the girl fell silent. "I love you both and I'm sorry, but I have to go."

"So you prefer _Madara_ over me and Dad?" Sarada asked in a small voice.

"This... has nothing to do with who I prefer."

"Sakura, we're waiting," Madara reminded her, with Kazuki looking on anxiously.

She nodded and made a step towards him, no more, because in a flash Sasuke blocked her way. Sakura gasped, lifting her eyes to his and that was all it took for his genjutsu to take hold. She fell into his arms, unconscious, while a purple Susanoo manifested around them and spread its wings to flight.

"MOM!" the boy screamed. "Mom! Wake up!"

Sakura stirred in Sasuke's arms, already fighting off the sleep genjutsu. He quickly passed her on to Naruto's chakra arm, which wrapped around her securely. Even if she woke up, she wouldn't escape.

To Sasuke's surprise, Madara didn't make a single move. He stayed rooted in a spot, observing the capture with a blank expression. As the Susanoo soared up to the opening in the cave's ceiling, Sasuke kept an eye on the other Uchiha, challenging him to stop them.

Madara returned his look, unfazed. Then, he allowed a small smirk to creep up on his face before he turned away.

.

.

AN: Thanks for reading! This is the end of the second arc of this fic (for the anon who asked about the first arc, it's chapters 1-6).

Please let me know what you think about the chapter :)

Until next time!


	13. Chapter 13

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 13**

 **.**

The ride on her father's Susanoo was rather quiet. Sarada sat by her unconscious mother, watching over her. Sasuke said she'd wake up in a few hours and if she wouldn't, he'd lift the genjutsu. Normally, Sarada would have enjoyed the breathtaking view of the lands below, but she was too distracted by her thoughts.

Sarada chewed on her lip, feeling conflicted. She should be ecstatic, as finally her dream was coming true, but despite the fact they were bringing her mother back, she couldn't forget how forceful her father had been. He practically captured her mother, like she was some sort of a criminal. Also, Kazuki's heartrending cries were still ringing in Sarada's ears.

Yes, she wanted her mother back, but... this isn't how she wanted it to happen.

She shook her head and slid her eyes to her father, seeking something else to think about.

"Dad, what's this technique?" she asked, startling him.

He looked over his shoulder. "Susanoo is a guardian made of my chakra. It's a very advanced technique," he explained.

"Madara used it too," Sarada commented. "Is it a clan technique? When can I learn it?"

Something dark passed through her father's face, too quick to catch. "Talk to me after you make jonin," he said, turning away.

Sarada's face fell.

"Huh? Jonin? Sasuke, are you sure-"

"Quiet, Naruto," her father snapped. The Hokage huffed, but relented.

Sarada's gaze drilled into her father's back. First the search for Mom, then Uncle and the clan, now this technique... he was constantly keeping important things about their family from her. He didn't trust her with anything. Who did he think she was, an irresponsible gossip that would blab secrets to everyone? She was going to become a genin, a real ninja in a short time! If she was going to be trusted to work for the village, to handle potentially sensitive information, then why couldn't her own father trust her with their family secrets? All she wanted was to be treated as a shinobi, not a small child. Sarada seethed quietly in her hurt. She'd like to throw all of these thoughts in his face and see how he'd react, but she knew this was something they'd have to talk about in private, so she remained silent.

She was so exhausted that she must have taken a nap, because the next thing she heard was the loud rumbling. She looked around confused. The Seventh was sitting cross-legged and rubbing his stomach with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry for waking you up, Sarada-chan. I just got really hungry, hehe." Then he addressed her father. "Sasuke, you better fly us to a place with ramen! I'm starving!"

"You'll live. There's only a few hours more to Konoha."

"Hours?! I'll die from hunger! You know you will be the one to explain to Hinata that I died because you didn't make a stop to eat!" Uncle Naruto cried out dramatically.

"Tch. Fine." The Susanoo rapidly descended.

"See, he cares!" Naruto stage-whispered to Sarada with a wink. She giggled.

The Susanoo let them all down gently on the ground and disappeared. Naruto stood up and stretched his back with a groan. Sarada glanced at his knee in surprise. She hadn't really believed his reassurances before, but his knee seemed fully healed and as good as new.

"Did you really have to land in the middle of nowhere?" the Seventh complained loudly, bringing up the fact that they were surrounded by the familiar Fire Country forests.

Her father leaned his back heavily against a nearby tree and crossed his arms. "We'll set camp here."

Sarada made to get up and help when he stopped her. "Stay here and watch over your mother," he ordered. She reluctantly nodded, squashing the rise of annoyance at his protectiveness. Her dad wasn't fooling her. He was the one who should be resting after he'd expended his chakra for hours flying them all here.

Her father and uncle came back quickly with the gathered wood and filled canteens. They built the campfire which was then lit by her father with a practiced flicker of a fire chakra.

"I'm going to cook ramen!" the Seventh declared.

"You know we have normal food," her father pointed out drily.

"Ah, so you _do_ admit ramen's superiority over _normal_ food!"

"That's not what I... ugh." Her father made an annoyed grunt as he gave up trying to explain anything to the Hokage, realizing that he wouldn't listen anyway.

"Ta-da!" the Seventh pulled out packages of instant ramen out of his pouch. "I don't go anywhere without my ramen reserves!"

Sarada giggled again and Sasuke just shook his head in amusement as Naruto poured the contents of the packages into a pot, added water and put the pot over the fire, whistling jauntily as he stirred the soup.

And for a moment Sarada forgot about the disquieted clenching in the pit of her stomach.

Soon the ramen was ready and Naruto unpacked four bowls from a scroll. "Aren't you going to wake Sakura-chan?" he asked.

Sasuke got up and went to kneel by her side. He considered her sleeping form, then leaned down, hovering just above her face. Sarada's eyes grew wide and round and her cheeks pinked. Was her dad really going to...?

"Bastard, not in front of us! Sheesh, I didn't say to wake her with a kiss, you horndog!" Naruto grumbled.

"I'm not," Sasuke replied without a trace of embarrassment. "She's already awake. Stop pretending, Sakura."

The green eyes opened right away, proving him right about her faking sleep. "Still can't fool you?" she said in exasperation mixed with fondness.

"You know you could never fool me," he answered cockily. Seemingly against her will, Sakura's lips twitched and pulled into a tentative smile, which he returned. But it ended just as quickly, when a shadow passed over her face.

"True," she agreed, looking away from him. He frowned, but she made a motion to get up and he shifted to give her room.

Sakura scanned their surroundings. "Where are we?" she asked concretely.

"Near Konoha." Sasuke's reply was vague in contrast and Sarada had a sneaking suspicion that it was on purpose.

Sakura's mouth thinned, noticing the same thing. " _Where_ near Konoha? South, east, west?" she pressed for a clarification.

"Why do you need to know? Planning to escape?"

Sarada stifled a gasp as she stared at her mother who only shrugged.

"Escaping both you and Naruto would be a tall order. Even for me," she replied honestly. "I'm just curious, that's all. It's been a long while since the last time I was this close to the village." The air of melancholy settled over her.

"Hn." Sasuke made a sound of affirmation.

"Speaking of, Sakura-chan, you won't believe how much Konoha has changed! You've got to see everything, you'll be really amazed. Oh, I know, we should give you a tour and show you around!" Naruto suggested excitedly as he handed her a bowl of instant ramen. "Be careful, it's hot," he added.

"Thanks," Sakura said, accepting the food.

"Idiot, you don't have time for giving tours," Sasuke pointed out, taking his own bowl.

"Eh, I can take a day off for Sakura-chan. Shikamaru can handle the office." Naruto dispensed a bowl to Sarada and took the last, orange one for himself.

"You're just looking for an excuse to bail out of work. Being the Hokage too tough for you now?" Sasuke made a dig at him.

"Bastard, I'd show you tough anytime, but I have better things to do! Sakura-chan, Sarada, let's eat! Itadakimasu!"

Gathered around the campfire, the four shared a hot meal. It was just an instant ramen, but true to Naruto's word it tasted divine. The soup and noodles filled Sarada with warmth as she watched her dad and uncle bicker. Her mom was also smiling at them. She looked younger and more carefree, as if she shed some of her baggage in their presence. Sasuke didn't leave her side, staying close in an unobtrusive but protective manner. They fitted next to each other so naturally that Sarada couldn't even tell when his cloak ended up wrapped around her mother's shoulders to ward off the evening's chill. She wished she had a camera to capture that moment.

"This is just like the old times, right, Sakura-chan? The three of us camping in the forest like when we were genin... too bad we didn't bring along Kakashi-sensei. But we have Sarada now. And they both have Sharingan, so it's almost the same," Naruto drew a comparison that barely made any sense.

Sakura raised an eyebrow and Sasuke scoffed. "Our daughter isn't the same as Kakashi. Did all that ramen finally melt your brain?"

In a bout of childishness, Naruto flipped him off.

"Naruto isn't wrong," Sakura said pensively.

He beamed at her. "Thanks, Sakura-chan!"

"Well, not entirely wrong," she corrected as she stirred the remains of her soup in the bottom of the bowl. "Many things changed, but some will always remain the same. Like Naruto loving ramen. Or Kakashi-sensei reading porn in public. Or..." she glanced at Sasuke, then cut herself off.

"Or what?" he asked.

"... Nothing."

"You're spot on about Kakashi-sensei, he's still reading those books, even though he's a married man! How does he do that, I have no idea," Naruto said with a disapproving shake of his head.

"Don't act like you're any better, it's not like you aren't reading them too," Sasuke said with a scoff.

"He-Hey! It's not like this! Don't listen to him, Sakura-chan!"

"I feel like I should punch you for the sake of old times," Sakura said lightly, leveling Naruto with a look that had him shrink away.

"You-you're joking, right? Come on, there's no need for that, ehehe..."

"Hmmm... I guess I will let it go for now."

Naruto let out a big sigh. However, when he spoke again, his tone changed.

"It's good to have you back, Sakura-chan," he said, the humour completely faded away. "It should have happened sooner. All I want to know is why it didn't."

The campfire crackled louder in the absence of chatter. The atmosphere instantly charged and Sarada shifted nervously in her seat.

"Sarada," her dad said. "Go wash the dishes. The stream is around two hundred meters to the west."

She couldn't believe it. He was sending her away now, after all that she'd gone through?! She gritted her teeth.

"If you're going to ask Mom questions, I want to be here," she said firmly and squared her shoulders. Her father gave her a hard, displeased look, which she met unflinchingly.

"We're going to talk about village matters. You're not even a genin yet."

Sarada snorted. " 'Village matters'? Mom is our _family_. And as her daughter I have a right to know why she was away for most of my life."

Sasuke's frown deepened and she knew it was because he wasn't used to her talking back. _Good_ , Sarada thought.

"As your father, I have the final say, not you, Sarada. And I'm telling you to go to the stream," he replied sternly.

They stared at each other, engaged in a battle of wills, no one willing to back down. Her father had always been the final authority she'd deferred to, but this time she wouldn't budge. Sarada was too determined to stay, no matter what. This was too important to her.

Naruto coughed. "Maa, Sasuke, don't be so strict. Sarada's got a point. And she's going to be a genin soon, anyway, so..." he trailed off when Sasuke blatantly ignored him.

"Sarada can stay," Sakura said, unexpectedly taking her daughter's side.

"I can?" Sarada glanced at her in surprise and happy excitement.

"No, she can't," her dad objected. "She's twelve."

"We were twelve when we went to the Land of Waves," Sakura reminded him. "Besides, if you want me to explain everything, it's going to take a while. You can't send Sarada away for so long. It's safer if she just stays," she reasoned, but Sasuke wasn't entirely convinced. "She already knows a lot and she deserves to hear this along with you, Sasuke-kun. I owe it to both of you," Sakura added gently.

Sarada looked between her parents, awaiting the final verdict. When her father relented only after a brief moment of hesitation, she gaped. She never suspected that someone could have this kind of sway over his decisions. Normally he was as immovable as a rock, but Mom needed only a few words to get through to him.

Naruto clapped his hands once, startling Sarada. "Great! Sakura-chan, you can begin. No one's around for miles so anything you say will be just between the four of us. So give it all to us, the full version."

"Alright." Even though she agreed, Sakura fell silent. Her brow creased as she searched for the right words. "What do you want to know first?" she asked sheepishly.

"Why did you leave us?" Sarada blurted out. "Why were you with Madara?"

"Yeah, how did that even happen? We all thought that he died in the war. I don't understand how that guy is still alive." Naruto scratched his head.

The questions were meant to help Sakura, but instead she struggled with how to answer them.

"Just start from the beginning," Sasuke said. It had a calming effect on her. She relaxed and took a deep breath in.

"Everything started a few months after Sasuke-kun had left on his journey of redemption..." Sakura began her story.

.

The day in the town on the border with the Rain Country was, predictably, overcast. Sakura's mission brought her there to heal a son of a prominent merchant family. The boy had fallen off a horse so unfortunately that he'd become paralyzed. Thankfully, Sakura restored the damage to his nervous system. After rehabilitation he would be able to run around as if the accident had never happened.

As she left the family's mansion, Sakura glanced up at the sky worriedly. She didn't bring an umbrella with her, so she'd have to run if it started to rain. For now, she headed at the brisk pace into the town center to check out the local apothecary. Medicines from the Rain weren't well-known to the outside world due to the country's past isolationism and she was dying to experiment with some of them.

A small body collided with her legs, but she managed not to topple over. Sakura steadied the child that ran into her from a side alley and took a good look at the little one. It was a girl, dressed in a dirty green kimono. She appeared disheveled, with light hair slipping out of a bun, but she didn't seem hurt.

"Are you okay? You should be more careful," Sakura said.

The girl turned up watery eyes at her. "I'm sorry! There's a scary man in there! I need to bring help, fast!" the girl burst out into a rushed explanation.

Sakura drew up in alert, instinctively sensing out for hostile chakra. "Is someone in danger?" she asked to make sure.

The child's head bobbed up and down. "Yeah! Please, you-you have to help! The scary man is going to kill him!"

"Don't worry, I'm a shinobi, I'll help your friend." Sakura tapped at the metal of her headband for emphasis. "Leave this to me!" She ran into the narrow alley fearlessly. When she turned the corner, she found them.

One man was on the ground, beaten, the other stood over him with a bloodied sword. Before Sakura could stop him, the man stabbed down, piercing the heart of his victim. She gasped, but the killer didn't hear her. Instead of making off, he walked away a few steps and plopped down on the ground, leaning his back against the dumpster. That's when she saw that he was bleeding from a deep wound in his right side. He put pressure on it, coating his hands in red, but he couldn't staunch the heavy flow. Her honed medical instincts told her that if the slice nicked the liver, he was going to bleed out in mere minutes.

She could have let this man perish on his own as a punishment for his crime, but as a healer, she couldn't just watch someone die before her eyes and do nothing to save them, no matter how undeserving of help they were. Sakura walked past the dead man, giving him a sorrowful glance, and knelt next to the injured killer. He looked at her with distrust.

"I'm a medic-nin. Show me your wound," she said tersely, the green chakra already at her fingertips. When he didn't listen to her, she glared at him impatiently. "Do you want to bleed out and die here?"

"It's... not that bad..." he rasped out. The strength was leaving him fast if he had trouble talking.

Sakura snorted. Typical tough guy, pretending to be fine even when he was mortally wounded. "Yes, it is." She pulled his hands off the gash forcefully and pressed her own onto it, pouring the healing chakra in. "And don't think I'm helping you. You will still answer for murder after I heal you," she said, her brow knitted in concentration as she worked on closing the deep slice.

"Not... murder... self-defense..." he muttered sleepily. The green of her chakra reflected in his eyes before he passed out.

Sakura threw at him a surprised glance. The long fringe covered most of his face and what was visible of his skin was grimy and bruised. She regarded him carefully, trying to determine if he was lying. Would someone lie so obviously on the verge of death? It seemed unlikely. Come to think of it, she noticed that his wound was definitely from the sword. And on the second look, the dead man had the sword's sheathe strapped to his belt, marking him as the owner of the weapon, while his killer had been initially unarmed. Although after a quick search Sakura found a knife on her patient, it was clear that it hadn't been used in this fight.

She realized that she was partially wrong about this man. He wasn't "the scary man" the little girl had told her about. His dark, worn out robes and cloak were stitched up in many places and she spotted a lumpy knapsack laying under the dumpster like it was carelessly tossed off his back and kicked over. All of this suggested that he could be a traveller of some sort, ambushed in this alley by a thug and forced to fight for his life. However, Sakura couldn't overlook that he still killed his attacker after the man had been already incapacitated.

With her deft medical touch, the wound closed seamlessly, though she didn't miss that it healed much faster than it should have. It's almost like the man had some regenerative abilities, though there was no definitive proof. With every new discovery about him, she found him all the more mysterious.

A cold drop fell on Sakura's forehead, startling her. She looked up in dismay, cursing the untimely change in weather. What was she supposed to do now? Her inn was still a long way from there.

"It's here! Look!"

The arrival of the little girl with the reinforcements saved Sakura the trouble. Her patient was taken to the nearby house which belonged to the girl's family. Miyu, which was the girl's name, confirmed what Sakura had already deduced about the injured man. He was a traveller that stayed for a short time in their town, doing odd jobs to raise funds before he set out on the road again. He actually came to the town because he was hired in the Land of Stone as a part of protection detail of a merchant caravan belonging to Miyu's family.

Sakura gave her statement to the police officer, though it was only a formality at this point. The dead man was identified as a wanted bandit and the local judicial system was more likely to offer the one who had taken him out a medal rather than prosecute him.

When she finally had the time to check on her patient, he was already up and gathering his things. _Fast recovery time,_ she thought, watching him from the doorway as he riffled through his bag. He pulled out a piece of string and deftly tied his black shoulder-length unruly hair into a high ponytail.

"Where do you think you're going? I still need to give you a check-up," she said.

"No need. I'm fine now," he replied in a strong, clear voice without looking at her. He didn't react with surprise when she had spoken, which meant that he had noticed her presence beforehand.

"I have no doubt, but you could still use some bed rest. You lost quite a lot of blood."

He scoffed. "I have better things to do than staying here."

"Like wandering around without aim?" she took a shot at guessing with more bite than necessary. She was strangely riled up. Something about this man just reminded her of Sasuke-kun. But Sasuke had a real purpose to his journey, she repeated to herself.

"My aims aren't any of your business, medic-nin. Are you finished with your asinine questions, because I'd like to get going already," he stated, miffed, and finally turned to face her.

Cleaned up and with his long hair pulled back, the man's face was at last fully visible to her. Sakura stumbled back, staring in mute shock at the familiar features, set in an irritated glower. It was _him,_ she realized with a rising panic. She'd never expected, not in a million years, that _he_ was still alive.

The accursed name that should have been forgotten tumbled out of her lips.

"Madara..."

The man's gaze narrowed at her and in the next second, he had her pressed against the wall, a large hand wrapped around her throat in a silent threat. He leaned to her, eyes blazing fervently.

"How do you know my name, kunoichi?"

Sakura swallowed down her fear and met him with a stony glare of her own. "How could I ever forget you? You stabbed me in the war and almost killed my teammates, you bastard," she hissed out. She had to keep her voice down. She couldn't allow anyone in this house to get involved in this.

Madara gave her a hard, searching look. "It probably wasn't that serious if you're still walking around," he retorted.

Sakura gaped. He'd stabbed her through her stomach, he'd seen her heal it within seconds, and all he had to say was that 'it probably wasn't serious'?

"So I was in the war..." Madara said softly, like he was confirming it to himself.

"Of course you were! How are you even alive?" she burst out.

"Hmm, not sure. Good luck, maybe?" he guessed sarcastically, but underneath she saw the lurking confusion in his eyes. Something didn't seem right about him.

"What are you playing at, Madara?" she asked seriously.

"Nothing," he said and stepped away from her. Sakura touched her throat without taking her eyes off him. "If you want revenge for the stabbing and the rest, we can take it outside the town," he suggested.

He grabbed his knapsack and swung it over his shoulder, heading for the door. Sakura's mind whirred as she analyzed his odd behaviour and everything she had gathered about him that day.

"Wait," she snapped out. She darted in front of him, blocking his exit, and looked up at the towering Uchiha. "Do you know my name?"

"Why should I?" he asked flippantly.

"I have pink hair, that's pretty unforgettable, right? Do you remember anything about me? Or my teammates, Naruto and Sasuke? Does it ring any bells?" When Madara only raised an eyebrow impatiently, she grew desperate. "What about Obito? Tsunade? _Hashirama_?"

"You or any of your little friends aren't that important for me to remember," he said with a growl, damning himself in the process.

And, just like that, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

"No. It's not that they aren't important. You just don't remember," Sakura said confidently.

Madara glared at her, but didn't try to deny what she had already figured out.

As far-fetched as it sounded, he had lost his memory after the war.

.

.

AN: Thanks for reading!

In October I took a break from writing this fic, but now I'm back. I'm so excited to finally start writing about Sakura's past! I hope you all liked this intro.

Please tell me what you thought about the chapter :)

Until next time!


	14. Chapter 14

Trigger warning: drugs, drug use

 **.**

 **The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 14**

 **.**

Sakura looked at Madara boldly. He was rooted to the spot, clutching his bag in a white-knuckled grip. She tensed warily, half-expecting him to try and swing the knapsack at her.

"How much do you remember, apart from your name?" she asked.

"Enough," he said sharply. "Now if you have no real business with me, get out of my way." He motioned at her to step aside and stop blocking the exit.

"I could help you regain your memory," Sakura offered before thinking it through. She needed to stall him and it was the first thing that popped up in her mind.

Madara halted and appraised her again. She faced him resolutely, not letting her panic show.

"Didn't you just say we're enemies?" he pointed out sceptically.

Sakura bit her lip. This wasn't going the way she wanted. Despite his memory loss, Madara didn't lose any of his edge. He was already at a disadvantage here and he wasn't about to expose anymore weaknesses. It occurred to her that he must have been just as wary of her as she was of him. This realization gave her a new boost of confidence.

"That's true, we were on the opposite sides of the war, but..." she agreed, then hesitated for a split second. Was she really doing this? She didn't see any better option, so she forged on. "It's all in the past now. The war is over and my side won. You don't seem to carry a grudge against us, so there's no reason to stay enemies forever." She tacked on a professional smile for a better effect.

"Nice speech. It could've worked if you actually believed it," Madara said, completely unaffected by her generous proposal.

"What are you talking-"

"I'd have to be blind not to notice that insincere smile."

Her smile vanished, but she didn't lose her nerve. "I didn't say I want to be friends with you. Just not hostile would be a good start."

"Practice what you preach. You're the one with the grudge here."

And just like that, he dismissed her like she meant nothing. She was just an annoying bug buzzing in the ear of the great Uchiha Madara and what she did for him was completely insignificant. She ran to the front door after him and stopped it from closing.

"I saved your life, Madara!" she yelled at his back. "At least you could stay for a check-up!"

"No, you didn't," she heard him say before he disappeared into the usual crowd of the bustling border town.

Sakura could have stopped him, but she didn't want to make a scene in public. Her methods were too loud and destructive and she had no paralytic poison on hand to subdue him. She made to follow him, but she was stopped by Miyu. The little girl wouldn't let her go without any explanation and it took some time to placate her. Then Sakura rushed out and searched for Madara, though she quickly realized he already left the city and she had no idea which direction he'd taken. However, she knew that he had come from the west, from the Land of Stone, and she had a hunch he wouldn't want to go back the same way. This left the east, towards the Land of Fire, or the south, where the smaller countries without big ninja villages were located.

Sakura chose the south.

And lo and behold, there was Madara on the deserted road, facing two shady looking individuals—a bald older man with a big mustache and a blond punk with a pompadour. His accomplices? From his tense body language and a hand placed close to the handle of his concealed knife, she'd wager he wasn't pleased to see these two. Sakura crouched in the treetop to listen in on them.

"This is your last chance to reconsider, Hayabusa," said the bald man.

Sakura knew from Miyu that this was the name Madara was now using. A falcon was consistent with the Uchiha inclination towards birds. Sasuke-kun had a connection with hawks, Itachi with crows, it only made sense that their ancestor had one too.

"Are you not only stupid, but deaf too?" Madara mocked the man openly. "The death of the pathetic assassin your master sent should have made things clear. My answer is no."

"You bastard! I'll show you stupid when I rearrange your ugly mug!" the punk exploded and he would have charged at Madara if his companion didn't put a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Control yourself, Yoki! He's baiting us."

"But he-! Ah, um, I'm sorry, Boru-san." Under the bald man's glare, Yoki humbled. Sakura thought they might be a teacher and student.

"Hayabusa... there's another reason for you to come with us. Or should I rather call you... Madara?" Boru asked.

For his credit, Madara didn't bat an eye after hearing his name from a person that shouldn't know it. He played it completely cool. "And so you are also blind. Do I look like some lunatic that tried to use the moon to put everyone in a good dream?"

So he knew what he had done! Sakura leaned forward from her excitement and almost fell out of the tree, but she caught herself on the branch in time.

"Don't play dumb, Madara. A top Konoha kunoichi recognized you. We know it's really you. Our leader will want to see you."

"Too bad, I don't want to see him."

"Not even to protect your name from spreading? If the Five Kages learned that you're still alive, they'd never rest until they hunted you down like a rabid dog."

"No one will know if you can't talk," Madara replied.

The men went for their weapons when his meaning finally dawned on them, but Madara was already onto them. He powerfully kicked Yoki into a tree while drawing his knife and in the same motion cutting at Boru's throat. The older man stopped the blade with his own kunai and retaliated with a punch, which Madara blocked.

They engaged in a pure, fast-paced taijutsu match, knives clashing and setting sparks with every strike. To Sakura's surprise, Madara wasn't winning. From what she could see, he wasn't even using his Sharingan! _He's not taking them seriously_ , she thought with annoyance.

With a push at the right angle, Madara knocked the kunai out of his opponent's hand and followed with a stab, but Boru backpedaled, raising his arms defensively. Madara's knife cut through the sleeves of the cloak, revealing that the man wore bracers.

"Tch." Madara then swiftly changed his attack with a low, sweeping kick. Boru stumbled, but managed to awkwardly turn to the left just as Madara's knife sank into his flesh, missing the heart and instead stabbing into his upper arm.

Before Madara could pull out the knife, he was grabbed from behind in a chokehold by Yoki. Madara retaliated with a brutal elbow to the punk's side, then slipped out of the loosened grip.

"Yoki!" the bald man called out in warning and the blond guy jumped away. "Take this! Poison Cloud!" Boru blew out a sickly green mist at Madara, who held in his breath.

Sakura stared in consternation at the attack which enveloped the area in a thick vapour, concealing Madara's position. The most logical counter for him to use would have been a Wind Style technique or anything with a similar effect to blow away the poisonous gas, which Madara should have been easily capable of. As a medic-nin she knew other, more sophisticated methods of dealing with this attack, but she doubted Madara would know them.

His opponents took positions on opposite sides of the gas cloud, waiting for it to dissipate or for Madara to come out. The second happened—Madara ran out and coughed spasmodically, likely to clear his lungs of any poison he might have accidentally inhaled. When Yoki threw shuriken at him, he was observant enough to dodge, however his speed was visibly lowered and one ninja star nicked his hand. Yoki and Boru both charged at him and Madara fought back, however the more he moved the faster the poison spread through his body, making him sloppy until he couldn't defend anymore and was knocked out by Boru.

Sakura watched Madara's unexpected defeat in astonishment. This monster fell so quickly to such a simplistic tactic that she couldn't wrap her head around it. Even if she assumed he was severely underestimating his opponents out of arrogance, the Madara she knew from the war wouldn't have been taken out like that. She didn't understand what was wrong with him, but she needed to figure it out.

Even though her mission had nothing to do with Madara who currently didn't seem able to pose any threat to the world peace, she couldn't just walk away from him. Whoever was the boss of the two ninjas, they sought out Madara for some reason and that alone was very suspicious. Sakura felt that it would be the height of foolishness not to investigate this.

She stealthily followed the men who were taking a scenic route through the forest until they made it to a river. They went upstream, then took a sharp turn through the reeds and stopped on the shore of an oxbow lake, a remnant of the river's old trough. Boru used a Water Style technique to create a sphere of water around them with the air inside and they sank under the surface. When they didn't emerge, Sakura dived after them into the murky waters. Despite possessing the water chakra affinity, she had never learned any water techniques outside of the medical ninjutsu which she now deeply regretted. She swore she would work on changing that after she'd get back to Konoha.

Just like she thought, on the bottom of the lake there was an entrance in the wall, clearly human-made. Sakura swam inside and forward. It led up and soon she breached the surface and took in a large gulp of air. The entry place was thankfully empty. The secrecy of this hideout made the people who used it think that guards were unnecessary.

Sakura got out of the water and dried herself off with a minor chakra trick. It wouldn't do to leave puddles behind her when she went investigating.

The first thing she came upon was the prison. Madara was still unconscious. At the moment, no one was guarding him. Sakura thought about releasing him, but she decided to come back for him after she took a look around this place.

Even though espionage wasn't her strong suit, Sakura's skills were sufficient to scout the sprawling base. She wished for a Hyuuga comrade or a sensor to team up with. By her estimate, there were only five ninja around, all of them missing-nins from Rain to no one's surprise, however there was also a fair amount of untrained civilians. The first few times she ran into someone, she was sure they'd spot her right away as she simply used dark spots to hide and a rudimentary genjutsu, but they just passed by her with an absent look on their faces. They moved sluggishly like they were in a dream, eyes unfocused and glassy. When Sakura donned a dark cloak (found in one of the empty rooms) and copied their behaviour, it became a perfect disguise.

In her confidence she forgot about being cautious and bumped into someone. She apologized, but then gasped when she noticed the horrific scarring on the woman's face. It looked like it was made from melted wax.

"What happened to you?" Sakura couldn't help but ask.

The woman looked at her without comprehension at first, then touched her face as some lucidity returned to her. "Oh, this? Acid. I sold goods to Konoha ninja and got this in warning from the Pein _patriots_ ," she explained bitterly.

"I'm really sorry," Sakura replied.

"Don't worry, it was years ago. Now the past doesn't matter. The Dreamworld can fix everything, even my face. Have you tried it?"

"Not yet... but I want to," Sakura said, playing along.

The woman hummed, taking her in. "So, what is it? You're pretty enough, so it must be a love issue. A boy dumped you?"

"What? No! It's not like that!" Sakura exclaimed, then immediately regretted that she didn't agree. It would've made things easier for her.

"Then why are you here?" the woman pressured.

"It's private," Sakura deflected. "Could you just tell me where the Dreamworld is?"

"Haaa? It must be something about a boy, I just know it," the woman muttered. "Follow me. I need a fresh hit anyway."

The distant rumbling became louder as they got closer to their mysterious destination and Sakura realized with a start that it was music. But what kind of a shadowy organization would play loud music in their secret base?

The woman pushed open the door. The pulsing beat drilled into Sakura's skull and she winced, covering her ears. She entered the hall and coughed from the smoke inside it. Flashing, colourful lights provided bare minimum of visibility. People were lounging on sofas and ottomans, puffing on pipes.

And on the wall above a red eye symbol watched over the room. But it wasn't just any red eye.

It was the symbol of the Red Moon. Infinite Tsukuyomi.

"Come on!" the woman pulled the stunned Sakura along to the nearest low table. She lit a pipe and took a long drag, then she handed the pipe to Sakura. "Try it."

"I really can't, I don't feel so good," Sakura made up an excuse not to intoxicate herself.

"This will make you feel better!" the woman insisted.

"Why is there that symbol on the wall?" Sakura asked to change the subject.

"Silly girl, it's because we are the Order of the Red Moon! Now, come on, take it!" The woman aggressively pushed the pipe into Sakura's hand. Then she grabbed another one and laid down on the ottoman.

Sakura pretended to smoke as she made her way around the room, looking for some clues to what exactly was the Order of the Red Moon. So far they looked like a bunch of opium addicts. However they also had skilled fighters on their payroll, so she couldn't write them off as just harmless junkies.

As if to answer her burning questions, suddenly the lights turned off and a curtain on one of the walls was pulled off to reveal a large flat screen which then turned on, showing a long-haired man with a well-trimmed mustache and a goatee. He was sitting in the armchair with the red moon symbol proudly displayed in the background. His double chin, golden chain around his neck and the blue, opened shirt gave the impression of someone wealthy and in power.

"Brothers and Sisters!" he addressed the room. "The Blessed Day of our salvation is coming nearer! Take part in your reward for the hard work you've done and look forward with hope, for the Red Moon will rise again and we shall return to the World of Joy!"

"Heron-sama banzai!" the people cheered.

"Today, our prayers were answered. Our ninja brothers, Boru and Yoki, found and brought to us the Dream Giver, Madara-sama himself!"

"Boru banzai! Yoki banzai! Madara banzai!" the cheers erupted even more enthusiastically.

"Soon, Madara-sama will take us back to the World of Joy! But meanwhile, it's time for a celebration. Eat, drink, smoke and be merry, my brothers and sisters! Immerse yourselves in the joy of life! I bless you all!" The man on the screen raised his hand in a benevolent gesture.

"Banzai! Heron-sama banzai!" The applause continued even after the screen went dark.

Sakura cheered with the crowd, so as not to draw attention to herself. Then she put the pipe on a nearby table and made her way discreetly to the exit through the smoke-filled room. She was feeling light-headed already.

After she got out, she erupted into a series of dry coughs so strong that she had to lean against the wall and bend forward. Despite the discomfort in her lungs and throat, the rest of her body was pleasantly relaxed. Her eyelids grew heavy. Maybe laying down and taking a short nap wouldn't be a bad idea...

Sakura pinched herself in the arm hard. How could she even think about sleeping when she was in the middle of the enemy territory? She brushed her hair back and straightened up, thinking back about what happened.

Of course! Second-hand smoke! With this simple realization, she wanted to smack herself for her own carelessness. She must have inhaled enough of the drug to affect her. If she stayed there longer, she might have lost consciousness. Her organism was completely unused to this substance, unlike the Red Moon members.

"You don't look so hot, miss kunoichi," a familiar voice drawled.

Sakura's head whipped up and she put up her arms in front of her with difficulty. Damn, she had no time to use the medical ninjutsu and expel the drug!

Yoki grinned down at her like a shark. "Are you sure you want to fight? In your condition..."

Sakura punched him. The punk went down with a shout of pain, spraying blood out of his open mouth.

She looked at her fist, released and clenched it again. That blow should have knocked him out, but her grasp on chakra seemed wonky. Sakura pounced on the downed ninja, intending to shut him up before he raised the alarm.

She grabbed Yoki by his stupid, bouncy pompadour. She was going to slam his head on the floor, but he took a hold of her wrists, preventing that and they wrestled. In her impatience, Sakura growled and kneed his crotch, but instead of writhing in the excruciating pain, Yoki only grunted.

"Not... gonna... work..." he hissed out between clenched, bloody teeth. His eyes moved to the left, looking over Sakura's shoulder. "Heh!"

That's when she realized someone was behind her. She started turning, however a long needle stabbed her in the neck. Despite that, she managed to catch a glimpse of the one who got her.

The last thing Sakura saw before her eyes rolled up and she passed out was the woman with the acid scars standing over her with an empty syringe in her shaking hand.

.

Sakura was floating, gently rocked by the warm waves. Everything was so nice and colourful. What a wonderful vacation! No more stress, no more worries, no more responsibility, just she and the sun and the sea. She stretched out and sighed in a pure pleasure.

There were muffled voices buzzing behind her ears. Kind of annoying. She tried to ignore them.

 _Did you kill her?_

 _She should live. It was a normal hit._

 _Normal for you!_

 _What does it matter if she overdosed and died?_

 _Well... I don't know? It might?_

Sakura covered her ears and turned on her side. She'd rather be somewhere else.

A whirlpool sucked her in and she fell down from the sky. But then she was flying among the clouds! She laughed and dived. Konoha was under her and it looked amazing from the bird's view! Everyone on the streets was waving to her and cheering. She saw her parents, Ino, Tsunade, Shizune and others. Even the Hokage heads were smiling at her and nodding in approval.

"Sakura-chan! Wait for us!"

She looked back and Naruto in his Tailed Beast Sage mode was flying after her, but he was much slower. Next to him, Sasuke-kun was in his Susanoo. And they both struggled to catch up with her!

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto! Watch this!" she shouted and started doing aerial maneuvers—turning and spinning, diving and shooting up... She made loops around them, laughing merrily as they watched her in awe.

"You are so amazing, Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted out.

"Very impressive, Sakura," Sasuke-kun also praised her.

"Alright, let's all go to Ichiraku!" Sakura decided. They flew down and landed before the ramen stand. The flap was pushed up and Kakashi gave them his patented masked smile.

"I was waiting for all of you. Great flying Sakura," he said warmly. "Come on, sit down. I already ordered your favourite ramen. My treat!"

The ramen smelled so divine, like never before, that she drooled a little. She wiped her mouth and dug in her meal. It tasted even better than it smelled!

Before she knew it, she was walking home accompanied by Sasuke-kun. He put his arm around her and she snuggled into his side happily.

 _Ba-dum!_

"Sakura, be my girlfriend," he said, looking her deep in the eyes.

 _Ba-dum! Ba-dum!_

Her heartbeat was speeding up.

"Yes," she agreed with a soft blush. Was this a dream? She never wanted to wake up.

 _Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum!_

Sasuke smirked and lowered his lips to hers...

BA-DUM!

Banging and rattling sound of metal hitting on the stone hammered into her head. Sakura moaned and curled up, hands over ears to protect herself from the invasive noise. It didn't help at all!

"Argh, stop! Stop it!" she shouted.

A moment of a blissful, sweet silence followed. She relaxed and let go of her ears.

"No," came a delayed reply and the loud banging resumed.

Sakura's head felt like it was going to split open. All over, she felt terrible and there was a disgusting taste in her mouth. On top of that, her arms and legs were chained to the wall and she didn't have the access to her chakra. And it was too noisy and painful for her to even begin to think of a way out of this.

"Stop that! I said stop!" she yelled angrily and opened her bleary eyes. She was behind the bars and in the cell on the opposite side, through another set of bars, she spotted a man chained to the wall just like she was. She squinted to see his face, though she already could guess who it was. "Madara," she said with loathing.

"Kunoichi," he greeted mockingly. Then he hit his chains against the wall, making that same aggravating sound. Sakura groaned in pain.

"Don't do that!" she barked at him. "My head hurts!"

"Unless you have a better idea how to escape, I don't care."

"Well, I could come up with something if it was _quiet_!" she snapped.

Madara gave her a doubtful look. "You have three minutes."

Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated on gathering her chakra, but it was like trying to scoop up water with a sieve, it all leaked through. The Dreamworld messed with her chakra system, so she couldn't use medical ninjutsu to cleanse her body of this new drug. Even if she was at her full strength, such a procedure would take some time.

Next plan. The chains seemed sturdy, no sign of rust. If only she brought a lockpick... Ino would kill her if she heard about this. But in these circumstances she might never see Ino again.

Sakura started to realize how woefully unprepared she was for this self-given mission.

"Can you use your chakra?" she asked Madara. He raised an eyebrow. She sighed. "Right, stupid question..."

"Why did you follow me here?" he asked all of a sudden.

She leaned back and stared at the dirty ceiling listlessly. "I guess it was because of self-preservation. You did a lot of damage during the war, killed people I knew. I just can't let this happen again."

"Even when you know I don't remember any of that?"

Sakura gave him a wry smile. "You're still Uchiha Madara. I can't afford to underestimate you."

He looked taken aback, but then he smirked at her. "Smart choice, kunoichi of Konoha."

The air between them seemed to get warmer and for a moment they sat in their cells in a companionable silence.

"You should just call me by my name. 'Kunoichi of Konoha' sounds weird," Sakura offered with ease. Madara gave her a pointed look which she didn't understand. Then it occurred to her that he didn't remember her name and she'd never told him. "Oh, um, it's Sakura. Haruno Sakura," she said, flustered.

"Haruno Sakura," he repeated in his deep voice. "I will remember."

She shivered. Something fundamental shifted between them. Uchiha Madara for the first time acknowledged her. Nations had trembled before this man's power—and he said her full name. She was on his radar now and it made her both proud and afraid.

Sakura was going to ask him about the Red Moon because his encounter with Boru and Yoki made it look like he had something to do with them, but she didn't get a chance. The prison door opened and the two ninjas entered. Yoki, who sported a split lip, glared at her while Boru opened Madara's cell. They unchained him from the wall, but he was still restrained.

"Where are we going?" Madara asked mildly, when they took him out of the cell.

"Our leader, Heron-sama, wants to have a chat with you. Let's go," Boru explained and led him to the exit.

"Hey, and what about me?" Sakura asked.

"Don't worry, Konoha, we'll take care of you later," Yoki said and made a cutting gesture across his throat with a wicked smile.

The door slammed shut after them. Sakura waited with a growing dread. She couldn't allow Madara to join forces with the Red Moon. They wanted to re-enact the Infinite Tsukuyomi, for crying out loud! However, she had no way of getting out and they were most likely going to kill her. She'd never expected to be so powerless again, not after she had mastered the Yin Seal. She was such a failure.

 _No, I can't give up!_ Sakura thought. Her only chance was when someone came into her cell to take her to the place of her execution.

After what felt like hours and after she had obsessively gone over so many scenarios, she heard steps in the hallway. Sakura tensed in preparation. The prison door swung open.

"You're lucky, Konoha. I can't kill you... yet," Yoki said. "Madara-sama says he has a use for you."

.

.

AN: Thanks for reading! The flashback arc is getting started. I decided to change the genre listing to Drama/Adventure. From other news, Sunrises6 drew a fanart of Kazuki! Link in my profile.

Please tell me what you think about the chapter :)

Until next time!


	15. Chapter 15

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 15**

 **.**

Sakura paid attention to the path through the shadowed corridors of the underground hideout as she was led in chains by Yoki to see Madara. She did her best at memorizing the way, even though everywhere looked exactly the same. The walls were made of the same dark stone and lit by a wall torch every few meters. She was guessing that this part of the base was older or less used, so they didn't bother with installing electricity there.

Yoki had been more cautious in handling her transfer out of the cell. He didn't give her a single opening to attack. On one hand it pleased her that he was taking her as a serious threat after their fight, on the other hand she could really use being underestimated by her enemy right now.

Well, there are other things she could do. Like start a chat and fish for some information.

"So... what is someone like you doing here?" she asked casually.

"Someone like me?"

"Why would you work for the guys that want to go back to the genjutsu world and have their real bodies turned into Zetsu? You seem smarter than this." A little flattery wouldn't hurt.

Yoki wasn't fooled. "What do _you_ care about my reasons?" he asked suspiciously.

Sakura shrugged. "Just curious. You're a missing-nin, aren't you?" When he nodded, she carried on. "Normally I'd just assume the Red Moon pays you well, but it's not like you will need real money in the genjutsu world."

"A world without money wouldn't be a bad thing," Yoki remarked after a moment.

"How so?"

"Forget it," he said, becoming closed off in an instance. Sakura sensed she wasn't going to get anything out of him, so she changed the topic.

"How big is this place? We've been walking forever."

"Already tired? I shouldn't expect anything more from Konoha ninja," Yoki commented with a snort. "We'll be there soon."

"Are you sure we're not lost? We passed this intersection two times already," she pointed out innocently, drawing pleasure form the way his eyes widened comically.

"What?! No way!" Yoki yelped and looked around. Realizing that she was right, he muttered a curse and backtracked, tugging her along.

Sakura cocked her head, appraising him as they walked. She thought that if Yoki was the strongest ninja they kept around there, the Infinite Tsukuyomi would never happen again. However, she wasn't so lucky as Madara apparently joined their side. That was another problem for her to deal with alone. Sakura dearly wished she had called for some backup before following him into this base.

"Yoki!" a shout thundered from across the hallway, stopping him in his tracks. "Where have you been?"

"Bo-Boru-san!" the punk exclaimed. "I was just, er, the prisoner was slowing me down!"

"He got lost," Sakura provided a better explanation. Yoki shot her a venomous look.

Boru raised his impressive, grey eyebrow at this excuse. "You were supposed to bring her to Madara right away," he calmly stated.

"I'm very sorry!" Yoki bowed to his teacher, thoroughly chastised.

Boru gave her a passing glance. "Come on, Madara is waiting," he gestured at her and his student.

Yoki pushed Sakura forward none too gently, making her stumble. She had no choice but to follow Boru. The walk didn't take long and the lack of sounds or any human activity in this area of the hideout clued Sakura in that Madara was kept isolated from the rest of the cult. A good measure of security... but who they were protecting? Madara from the Red Moon members or rather... the Red Moon from Madara?

Boru nodded to the pair of guards stationed by the heavy door and swiped his hand over the chakra lock. Sakura narrowed her eyes. Chakra locks weren't the most popular measure of security as anyone with basic chakra training could open them. She heard there were some very expensive models that worked only for a specific chakra nature or even could be coded to a person's chakra, but this lock looked like a standard model. She supposed the Red Moon used chakra locks to keep the civilian members out of the restricted areas.

When the door opened, the bright light from the room spilled into the corridor. Sakura was escorted inside, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. Stepping inside was like going from a dark cave straight into a five-star hotel suite. The kunoichi gawked at the rich interior—expensive sofa and leather armchairs that one could just sink into and never want to get up, the crystal chandelier glimmering overhead, the carpet and tapestries on the walls which were supposed to hide the lack of windows. She was overwhelmed by the shining goldenness of everything in this room.

A curtain in the corner of the room was pushed aside and Madara came in from the adjacent room. He was dressed in a royal blue button up shirt and white slacks, his spiky shoulder-length hair was glossy. Sakura was used to seeing him filthy from battle, so the civilian clothes looked strange on him, though she also admitted that the style suited him.

Madara sat in the middle of the sofa and put an ankle over the other leg's knee. "So you managed to bring her here without sustaining any injury. You have exceeded my expectations," he commented, looking at Yoki, who scowled at him. Madara made a dismissive hand wave. "You can go now."

"No, we're both staying," Boru objected. "This kunoichi is still a threat. We shouldn't leave you alone with her," he reasoned. Madara narrowed his eyes at the bald man, none too pleased.

 _Translation: they don't trust Madara to be alone with me, either because I could kill him or he could use me against them_ , Sakura analyzed the exchange. Despite joining the Red Moon, Madara obviously didn't have the power to order around the two ninjas who had captured him. She held back a grin.

Madara broke the eye contact with Boru and exhaled. "Very well. Just don't get in the way," he said with a tone of warning. Then he finally turned his attention to Sakura who had the sudden urge to cross her arms in front of her. Sadly, the handcuffs didn't allow that.

"Haruno Sakura, I'm taking you up on your offer," Madara said directly.

She frowned in confusion and racked her brains for any offers she might have made him. Getting drugged made some things muddled and spotty.

"The offer expired," she replied defiantly, hoping he'd give her some hint to jog her memory.

Madara shook his head looking amused with her. "I don't think so." Sakura was going to tell him to go to hell, when he started unbuttoning his shirt.

"What are you doing?" she asked in alarm.

"I'm taking off my shirt," he told her calmly.

"Why?" she bit out, masking her rising apprehension. From what she remembered, Madara wasn't shy about his body. During the war he had fought wearing only a pair of tight pants for some time. Sakura glanced nervously around, but the only escape route was behind her and it was guarded. At least she wasn't alone in the room with a stripping, possibly perverted Madara.

Madara shrugged off his shirt as he gave her an answer. "So you can give me that check-up you couldn't shut up about."

Sakura managed to hide her sigh of relief. And she finally got a reminder she needed. "I can't use chakra like this," she informed him, showing her handcuffs.

"Take them off," Madara ordered Yoki, who looked at his master. Boru nodded. Yoki made a face and uncuffed Sakura.

"One wrong move and you're dead, Konoha," he threatened taking out a sharpened kunai.

Sakura rolled her eyes. That was unnecessary on his part as she was quite interested in examining Madara and learning more about him, possibly even how he had survived the war.

She approached Madara, feeling the tip of kunai a hairsbreadth away from the back of her neck.

"You should lay down," she told him. He'd be the easiest to scan in a horizontal position.

Madara laid on his back on the sofa with his long legs dangling off the edge. Sakura concentrated on molding her chakra as she made the hand seals for her jutsu. Even without the restraints, she had trouble using it due to the lingering effects of the drug. She was able to produce the medical chakra only thanks to her talent with chakra control.

"I'm going to start the scan," she said, putting her hands over his neck. Madara gave a small nod and she steadily pushed her chakra into his system. The technique wasn't particularly invasive, she was just sensing around for any damages or irregularities.

The room was silent, everyone watching what she was doing with a rapt attention. Sakura moved her hands lower, checking his shoulders and arms, then returning to his chest, where she focused on his inner organs. Her frown deepened when she finished her examination with his abdomen.

"Channel your chakra to your hands," she told Madara.

"You know it's not going to work."

"Just try it. I need to see something," she replied.

Madara shrugged and did as she asked. Sakura monitored the flow of energy within him. None of it reached his arms in the end.

"You can stop," she said. Then she laid her palms over his head. She left his head for last for a reason. "This is strange," she muttered after a few minutes.

"What's strange?" he asked immediately, boring his dark eyes into her.

She didn't respond. After checking up on his eyes, she took her hands away. "I'm done."

Madara sat up and leaned forward, his full attention on her. "And?"

"Well, you're healthy," she responded distractedly as she mulled over her findings.

"Then what was so strange?" Madara pressed her.

Sakura pursed her lips. Now that she had a picture of his condition, she needed to decide how much she should divulge to him. This was her one advantage over him. She was certain that if the Red Moon had another medic-nin at their disposal, she wouldn't have been called in. This was a game for her own survival.

"Your chakra network, especially around the brain," she replied in the most general terms. "I know people who simply can't use their chakra, but I've never seen anyone alive with such a mangled, dysfunctional system before." And Sakura had treated Maito Gai after the war. Madara's damage was even worse in comparison. No wonder he couldn't use ninjutsu or activate his eye powers.

If it was up to her, Sakura would have been perfectly content to leave him as he was. Her curiosity was satisfied and she was absolutely sure that Madara would never again pose a threat to the world. He had no access to his power.

"Can you heal him?" Boru asked.

The question took Sakura by surprise though considering Red Moon's goals, it really shouldn't have. They needed Madara's Rinnegan to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi after all.

"No," she replied with a snap. "It's impossible. He shouldn't even be alive after that damage to his chakra system."

"It's not impossible if I'm still alive," Madara pointed out the fault in her logic.

The kunai that was at her nape moved to the front, teasing its edge over her jugular. Yoki stood uncomfortably close behind her, a tall smothering presence of hostility aimed solely at her.

"The medical prodigy and the best student of Tsunade can't heal someone? I call bullshit," he said. "Don't lie again or I'll gladly slit your throat."

"Go ahead," she hissed out. "Even if I could heal him, I would never do it. If you kill me, you'll save us both the trouble."

The kunai pressed a little harder on her skin, making a small incision, then receded. Yoki spat out a curse, letting out his frustration. They had in their hands one of two people in the world that might have a chance at healing Madara and they couldn't threaten her with death to do it.

"Haruno Sakura, if you're so sure Madara can't be healed, then why don't you give it a try? It won't change anything, but it will save your own life," Boru suggested.

Sakura shook her head. "I won't do it. I can't allow another Infinite Tsukuyomi to happen. This is my duty as a kunoichi of Konoha."

"And there's nothing that can change your mind? Perhaps we could offer you something?" Boru persisted, looking at her shrewdly. "How about fulfilling your dreams? Only Infinite Tsukuyomi can do that. You must remember that unprecedented joy it brought to everyone."

She chuckled. "Not interested. I'm one of the few people that weren't affected by the Infinite Tsukuyomi, so you can't tempt me." Then she looked at Madara who kept oddly silent during this discussion. "And you, aren't you going to try to convince me?"

Madara's lips quirked as he regarded her with a piercing look. "There's no point. You don't wish to be my ally. The grudge is still too strong." He put on his shirt without buttoning it and left the room through the curtained exit.

Sakura couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt like there was some sort of a hidden meaning to his words. She ruminated on it even as she was handcuffed again and escorted back to the jail by the ill-tempered Yoki. He shoved her roughly into her cell.

"You think you're so tough, that you can't crack?" he taunted. "Don't worry, we will take care of that. After we'll done with you, you will beg us to let you heal Madara."

There was a glint of certainty in his eyes that sent a shiver down her spine. Left alone in her dark cell, Sakura curled up on the stone floor and tried not to think of what kind of torture they were going to use on her. And after getting to see the results of some of Orochimaru's crueler experiments, she had quite a big imagination of what can be done to a human to break him or her. Sakura shored up her defenses and attempted to command her chakra, but her control was largely impeded by the remains of the drug circulating in her system.

She didn't expect for Yoki to come back with the scarred woman. Before she figured it out, it was too late, Yoki grabbed her and the woman pulled out a syringe. Sakura's attempts to struggle were thwarted and once again she was injected.

She flew away into her dreams.

When Sakura woke up in a puddle of her own drool, she felt like she just descended from heaven straight to hell. A single act of kneeling took so much effort and shuffling to the bowl with water to drink wiped her out. There was no food, though she had no energy to eat anyway.

The woman came in again with a filled syringe. Sakura put up her hands weakly but after a few seconds they just fell down. She tried to ask her to stop, but the woman was deaf to her pleas and gave her another injection.

After that Sakura wasn't sure how much time had passed as she lived out her dreams, waking from time to time to the dark, smelly cell. She must have been fed and watered between injections, but she had no recollection of it. The reality felt more like a persistent, recurring nightmare marring her happy life in the illusion.

And the nightmares were getting longer.

Sakura spent hours laying listlessly on the hard floor, her gut clenching in misery. Her insides were burning up with this want that she desperately needed to quench. She tried to fall asleep again, to return to the better plane, but she couldn't.

Not without the drug.

She started looking forward to the time of the day when the scarred woman would come and give her the shot, though she quickly noticed the relief lasted less and less, but the craving for more only grew stronger.

Belatedly, in the moments of brief clarity, when she had the strength to think of anything else but her hunger, she came to what should have been an obvious conclusion.

"I am addicted," she later told Sasuke who was sitting back against the wall with her head cradled in his lap.

He made a sound of agreement.

"You have nothing to say?" she asked coyly.

He gave her an unimpressed look. "I'm not your father and you will do what you think is right anyway. I don't have to coddle you."

Sakura giggled. What a Sasuke way to tell her to deal with her own problems. "Are you sure you don't want to coddle me?" she teased, meaning their position.

He smiled back at her. "Annoying," he commented with fondness. Sakura basked in his presence. Sasuke was willing to hang out with her in this nightmarish place, offering her his companionship and asking nothing in return. She was so grateful that it nearly brought her to tears.

Without him around... she'd go crazy.

Sasuke delicately brushed stray hair off her forehead with his fingertips. She hummed in pleasure. He was so gentle that it felt like a breeze swept her hair softly.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"About what?" she asked, feeling distracted with his touch going down on her arm, leaving her in goosebumps.

"The addiction," Sasuke reminded her.

Sakura scrunched her brow. She didn't want to think about it. "There's nothing I can do." There, an answer.

The touching stopped. "Sasuke-kun?"

The cell door opened with a piercing wheeze of the unoiled hinges at the same time Sakura's head slipped and fell on the ground with a painful bump.

"Wake up!"

Sakura's eyes shot open with a jolt of recognition. For the first time since ages Yoki came to her instead the scarred woman whose name Sakura still hadn't learned.

Her nose twitched. Something smelled off. The moment she rose up on her elbows, something wet, cold and blubbery slapped her in the face, then flopped on her shirt. She looked down at the dying fish.

"What..." she fumbled for words in her confusion as she turned to Yoki.

The man crossed his arms. "Heal it."

"I can't use my chakra," she reminded him scathingly. Yoki shrugged.

"Then you won't get your shot."

Her eyes widened in fear. "You can't do that!" she accused.

"Sure I can. See?" He showed her the vial with the greenish liquid that was the drug. Sakura swallowed drily, her fingers twitched and clenched on her dirty floormat. She followed the vial with her eyes as Yoki put it back into his pocket. "If you want the dose, heal the fish," he repeated his order.

Without thinking, Sakura grasped the struggling fish and focused her chakra. It responded sluggishly, but she was able to control and direct the flow into the fish's organs to keep it alive. Normally she could do such a basic exercise in her sleep.

"Here, happy?" she asked and threw the revived fish at Yoki. He caught it by the tail which he snapped then threw the fish back to her. "Again."

Annoyed, Sakura healed the broken tail again while keeping the fish alive as it didn't have any water to breath. When she tossed it back to him, Yoki stabbed the fish in the gut and returned it to her. The bizarre test continued with Yoki dealing the fish many different injuries for her to heal every time.

After she put the eyes he had plucked out back in the fish and restored its sight, her hands were trembling as she handed it back. Yoki nodded and killed the fish, but he didn't give it back to her. Instead she was rewarded with a couple of stale onigiri and a water bottle. Sakura scarfed down the food quickly, however it didn't help with her other craving. She took a few slow gulps, wondering when he'd finally give her the shot. The inside of her elbow, pockmarked with the needle, itched for more. She rubbed it absent-mindedly.

"Get up." If Yoki noticed her laser focus on his pocket, he chose to ignore it. His lack of barbs was a little worrying to her.

"Why?" she asked without moving an inch.

"We're going somewhere," he replied vaguely. Sakura stood up and held out her hands when he demanded it. She was handcuffed again and taken through the lit corridors. They passed a few civilian Red Moon members who got out of their way, avoiding eye contact.

Yoki grabbed her upper arm when they neared a door marked with white plus sign. Several people were waiting in front of it. No one protested when Yoki and Sakura cut the queue and went inside.

"I didn't say 'next'! I'm busy in here!" an irate shout came from behind a room divider in response to their unceremonious entrance.

"Risai, it's me. I brought you the help you wanted," Yoki said.

A familiar scarred face poked out. "Help? Her?" the woman—so Risai was her name—gave Sakura a dubious once over, before looking at Yoki. "Are you sure about it? Isn't it too early?"

"She needs more practice and you need a competent help around here," Yoki replied.

"Two birds with one stone, huh?" Risai surmised, warming up to the idea, and he grinned.

"You know me, I'm a practical kind of guy," Yoki said with a fake modest shrug.

"Sure, sure." Risai shook her head at his antics. "She's filthy, have her clean up first."

Sakura was given a change of clothes—a plain brown dress with short sleeves—and ushered into a tiny adjacent bathroom. There was no shower so she had to undress and clean herself with a sponge, looking over her shoulder at the ajar door suspiciously. Yoki had his back to her, but he was on guard.

Not that she really had any desire to fight. Or, realistically speaking, strength. Sakura figured out she was in some sort of an infirmary run by the scarred woman. It explained why Risai was the one who kept drugging her. Sakura's lips twisted in a bitter half-smile as she put on the dress and fingercombed her matted pink mop of hair in front of the mirror above the sink. This was the first time she saw herself in a while and she looked ghastly. Her skin was pulled taut on her cheeks and she had dark eyebags and dull film over her eyes.

Something tore through the veil of apathy over her mind, a twinge of discontent, a stab of dislike aimed at the defeated wraith in the mirror. She quickly looked away.

Sakura was ordered to examine and heal the patients with her medical ninjutsu. She went along with it, because she needed her next shot. The craving was getting stronger, gnawing in her gut and she couldn't risk losing her chance. Just the thought of not getting out of this hellhole for the night with those she loved in the dreamworld infused her with panic. Risai must have predicted her desperation, because Sakura was barred access to the medicine cabinet when she was in the infirmary.

By the time she depleted most of her chakra with healing and couldn't continue, she almost bit through her lower lip from the overwhelming thirst. She tasted blood on her lips, metallic and salty, as she licked it off.

Risai fed Sakura with plain rice and water, which she swallowed automatically and without tasting, then she was handcuffed to a cot in the infirmary. Sakura was beyond caring at this point, all that mattered was getting back to the dreamworld. She almost wept from relief when Risai pulled out a filled syringe and plunged the needle in the soft skin on the inside of the elbow.

Next day, Sakura continued apathetically following orders and healing mundane injuries as well as damaged inner organs, usually liver. She was a medic, she was supposed to treat patients. None of them were enemy ninja, just civilian workers. She was doing her job, which helped to distract her from the strong craving drilling a hole in her gut, while she waited for the night to come.

She wasn't prepared for Yoki to show up again quite so soon.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, hoping that she wasn't sent back to the cell. She didn't want to lose her cot in the infirmary.

"You're going to heal Madara."

Despite her indifference, she still unexpectedly balked at the idea in a knee-jerk reaction. "Stop! I won't do that!" She dug her heels into the floor. Yoki jerked her forward and she almost tripped.

"If you make me drag you there, you will not get your shot tonight," he threatened.

That was enough to silence her protests. Sakura looked at her feet.

"If you don't heal him, you will not get your shot, too," Yoki added.

Sakura gaped in shock at him. "But I told you healing him is impossible!" she cried out. "You can't expect me to heal it in one day!"

"Don't sweat about that. You can do it. We only need him to be able to use his eyes, so concentrate on that. Everything else is secondary," Yoki explained. "If he says you did a good job today, you will get your precious shot," he told her with a nasty smile because he knew that it was going to work on her no matter what. He was practically waving a carrot in front of her.

Well, Sakura really wanted that carrot, so she swallowed down her pride and gave a jerky nod in agreement.

Madara was reading on the couch when they came in. He lazily looked up from the men's magazine and she had the urge to shrink away from his dispassionate cool gaze before it abruptly turned to Yoki.

"She's going to heal you," Yoki said with full confidence.

"And what if she tries to kill me?"

"She won't."

Madara grunted, but he didn't seem entirely convinced. Yoki squeezed Sakura's shoulder painfully and gave her one last look of warning before leaving them alone. Sakura winced and rubbed her shoulder. She was going to have a bruise.

"What made you agree?" Madara asked her suddenly. Once again, she was under his pinpoint focus. Sakura looked away from him and shifted on her feet uncomfortably, remembering how adamant she had been in her refusal to help him.

"It doesn't matter," she muttered.

"It's the drug, right?"

She stayed stubbornly silent, but her first flinch gave her away. Though he must have come to the correct conclusion simply from her ragged appearance, so hiding her reaction was a moot point anyway.

"I thought so. And what else did they _order_ you to do?" Madara asked with a hint of mockery.

Sakura frowned. This was too frustrating, the unquenchable burn in her cells demanded her obedience, but his words stirred the anger inside her. He clearly thought she was the Red Moon's leashed dog and she wanted to strike back at him.

"Nothing much, just to make sure only your eyes work. That's all they need from you. A pet Uchiha with red eyes to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi," she sneered at him, arms crossed, posture resolute.

Madara blinked, then threw his head back in a guffaw. She glared at him in irritation.

"So you're still biting. Very good, Haruno Sakura," he said with a glint of approval. "How about I offer you something better than the drug?"

She cocked her head at him curiously. "What do you have in mind?"

Madara smirked as he leaned forward in his seat with fingers laced together in a gesture that meant business. "Freedom. If you give me back my chakra, I will set you free," he said.

.

.

AN: Thanks for reading! Please tell me your thoughts about the chapter :)


	16. Chapter 16

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 16**

 **.**

"Free?" Sakura scoffed. "Sure, I will be free for around five minutes before you just put me and the rest of the world in the Infinite Tsukuyomi again. Same thing that would happen if I only heal your eyes which is _slightly_ more doable than fixing your entire chakra system."

"Who said I'm going to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi?" Madara asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Like he didn't know. "You did. Back in the war. You had plotted for decades to make it happen, you brainwashed people and did other unspeakable things just to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi. It was the purpose of your existence." She ended her explanation with a challenging look, daring him to deny the truth.

Madara remained unfazed. "Between the two of us, I was supposed to have an amnesia, not you," he remarked, making the vein in her forehead throb angrily.

"Didn't you listen to me?" she replied with a forced calm. "I don't have an amnesia. I remember everything you did and said."

"And yet, you conveniently forgot that I don't remember what I did and said. I don't remember why the past me started a war."

"You did it because you're a terrible person," Sakura hissed out. She willfully ignored how he seemed... disgruntled... at his lack of memory (calling it 'sad and lost' was too much of a stretch in the case of _Madara_ ).

"I _am_ or I _was_?" Madara questioned sharply.

Sakura's breath hitched in surprise. He threw her off-kilter and didn't wait for her to muster a reply.

"You are the only one here who remembers who I was. Tell me about him."

She had enough of his attempt of pulling wool over her eyes, acting as if he was any different than before. She didn't see that at all. "I have nothing to tell you. Just be quiet and let me do my job in peace."

Madara sat back and closed his eyes. "Very well," he agreed. "You can begin the treatment."

His magnanimous tone rubbed her the wrong way—he wasn't _allowing_ her to do anything and he was no royalty—but she bit back a sarcastic remark and put her hands over his eyes.

"Maybe I was terrible," Madara conceded quietly after a short while. "I don't remember. How do I know I am still the same as before?"

"When I found you, you already killed someone," she accused.

"That was a self-defense. Don't tell me it's the same as a straight up murder," he countered dismissively.

"You joined the Red Moon," Sakura stated. For her that was all that she needed for the damning evidence of his rotten personality. Madara begged to differ.

"Not by a choice. Why do you think there are guards outside?"

Sakura snorted, unconvinced. "You just want your power back."

"So I can _get out of here._ Surely you should be able to understand it?" Madara replied, irritation seeping into his tone. She liked the sound of that. She was getting under his skin.

Then, Madara abruptly gave up. "Nevermind. I was expecting too much out of the likes of you."

She gritted her teeth. " _The likes of me?_ " she questioned with annoyance.

"A sad excuse of a kunoichi with a drug-addled brain," Madara insulted off-handedly.

"Careful, or this sad excuse will scrape out your eyes," she spat out, barely resisting the urge to plunge her nails into his precious eyeballs.

Madara smirked, unfazed by her threat. "No, you won't. Not if getting your drug depends on it," he said with an absolute certainty.

Sakura bristled. The bastard was right, damn him. She wisely decided to shut up and focus on healing the same eyes she would rather destroy. The irony wasn't lost on her.

The main problem she had to face was that healing the eyes would amount to nothing if Madara couldn't channel his chakra into them. So in order for him to use the Rinnegan again, she needed to restore at least two chakra channels that went through his brain and into the eyes. However, there was another obstacle—the strange chakra clot in his brain.

Sakura frowned and tentatively reached out with her chakra to poke at the barrier. Madara winced, his hand flying up to rub at his temple.

"What are you doing?" he snapped.

"There's a blockage, I'm trying to remove it. Hold still," she told him, ignoring his tone.

Sakura sent more tendrils of her chakra at the clot, feeling for weak spots which she could penetrate to break it down. To her consternation, the barrier was solid and unyielding. With a determined look she added more force to her probe, battering at the wall of chakra in order to chip it away.

A violent shove knocked Sakura off her feet and she fell on the floor. The thick carpet somewhat softened the impact.

"What the hell was that for?!" she spat out furiously, getting up to her feet. She was going to be bruised on her back and hip.

Madara was massaging his head with both hands. "Too. Loud. Shut up," he hissed out, his eyes narrowed into slits as he pressed hard on his temples. A sign of a terrible headache, no doubt.

"Why did you push me?" she asked, considerately lowering her voice. Sakura didn't feel sorry for him though, it was only her good bedside manner.

"Because you were supposed to heal my eyes, not give me a lobotomy," Madara replied with a glower.

"I was getting rid of that barrier. If I don't, your chakra won't flow into your eyes," Sakura explained to defend herself.

"I don't care, don't do it again," he ordered gruffly.

Sakura tried to argue with him that it was necessary to restore the Rinnegan, but Madara was adamant. He didn't even allow her to touch his head to soothe his headache. Instead, he repeated his suggestion that she should just heal the rest of his chakra system and he'd get them both free.

Frustrated beyond belief, Sakura was escorted back to the infirmary, where she stewed on her cot. This development was putting her in danger. If the Red Moon members learned that she couldn't restore Madara's eye prowess, they wouldn't need her anymore. In the worst case, they'd just kill her and toss her corpse into the swamp. They might keep her to help out in the infirmary, but they could withhold her daily dose of the dreamworld. She couldn't stand the mere thought of losing her only solace.

An uncontrollable tremble went through her arms and she held them out in front of her eyes. They were shaking. She cast a needy glance at the locked cabinet and licked her suddenly dry lips.

The relief when she was administered her shot was too sweet and then she fell into the dreamworld.

She found Sasuke on the path to the village gates. This situation seemed familiar and she quickly realized that it was the same path she'd confronted him years ago when he had left for the first time. This time he didn't have a backpack. Sakura relaxed and went to him.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing here?" she asked, touching his shoulder lightly.

"Sakura, do you remember? This is where it all began. My sins-"

"-belong to the past," she smoothly interjected. "Yes, I remember."

He gave her a long look and the feeling of déjà vu became stronger. "Then how can you stand me being here? After everything I've done? I put you and Naruto through so much suffering." His self-loathing couldn't be clearer. He was searching for condemnation, but she wasn't going to give it to him.

"That doesn't matter anymore," Sakura told him firmly, holding his face between her hands gently. "Yes, you did terrible things in the past, but we forgave you. You're a different man now. Better and wiser. More experienced, just as we all are," she explained to him.

"How can you forgive me? Just like that?" He was still not believing.

Sakura smiled.

"It's because I know your true self, Sasuke-kun. There's so much goodness in you beneath all the pain you've gone through." She stroked his cheek and he closed his eyes, leaning into her touch as he absorbed her words. Then he opened them, shining with gratitude.

"Thank you, Sakura," he said hoarsely.

She was about to reply, the familiar words coming to her easily as if she had said them before, when he unexpectedly took a step back and added, "Would you do the same if I was Madara?"

Sakura reeled back, like she was punched from nowhere. The world shook violently, seized by an earthquake and shattered around them like a mirror. Sakura watched in shock as the whirlwind of shards carried Sasuke away. His final words were still ringing in her ears accusatorily.

She woke up in a cold sweat, completely disoriented. Someone was shaking her arm roughly and shouting. Everything seemed so blurry.

A harsh slap snapped her into focus with the burst of stinging pain blooming on her cheek. Sakura blinked and mumbled something unintelligible.

"Get up! Now!" Yoki barked at her. He pulled on her arm so hard that he could've dislocated her shoulder and brought her to her feet.

Sakura glanced around soberly. The infirmary was in chaos, with panicked people grabbing medical supplies off the shelves like it was a raid, except that Risai was yelling orders at them.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked.

"There was a cave-in! Come!"

Yoki rushed her outside. Sakura ran on wobbly legs, keeping her hand on the wall to steady herself. She was led up, to the higher level of the hideout. There she halted, taking in the sight of the ruined giant hall with big tanks and other machinery, barrels of chemical substances, one of them on the ground with the contents spilled into a large puddle everyone was careful not to step in. In the one end of the hall there was a trampled pile of green leaves, the raw material, in the other – the final product: first pressed leaves like tobacco, then vials of green solution, finally bags of the white powder and packets of finished pills. Most of it was damaged and strewn all over the floor. Rows of laboratory desks were flipped over or buried under the rubble, workers still trapped under the weight, crying for help and moaning in pain. A dark layer of dirt and dust was covering what had been once a pristine drug factory.

"Don't just stand there and stare!" Yoki yanked her forward, but not towards the injured. Instead he took her straight to his mentor. Boru was sitting up against the wall, barely conscious, bleeding from a head wound, though that wasn't the most pressing of his concerns—the mangled right leg was. A smear of dark blood on the floor indicated that he was dragged there.

"Heal him!" Yoki ordered her.

Sakura knelt by the older man's side and gently lifted his hands off the leg wound they were putting pressure on. She hissed at the gruesome sight, realizing how bad the damage was.

"What is it? Can you heal him?" Yoki asked anxiously, hovering over her shoulder.

"I think so," she replied tensely.

"You 'think so'?! What's that supposed to mean?!" he burst out in outrage.

"If you want him to live, bring me medical supplies. Hot water, bandages, whatever you can get. Quickly!" she snapped.

When Yoki was gone she could finally concentrate on helping her patient. She sent the healing chakra to block the ruptured blood vessels and staunch the bleeding. Boru touched her hand and she looked up at him. His lips parted, so she leaned in to listen.

"Wa...ter..." the man rasped out between wheezing breaths.

"Yoki will bring you water soon," she told him. She searched him for other injuries. "Looks like only your leg is seriously hurt. You'll survive," she reassured.

Boru gave her a strange look. "You... Kono...ha," he said with an effort.

"Shhh, don't speak. You need to conserve your strength," she interrupted.

"Why... help... me?" Boru asked slowly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. The man was bleeding out from a crushed leg but he still had the energy to be paranoid about the only medical help he got because she was from Konoha? Ridiculous.

"Why?" Boru insisted.

"I don't have much choice. Yoki would kill me if I didn't heal you," she replied with a shrug.

"Non... sense," Boru disagreed with a huff. "He... can't... because... Mada..." he gulped in a breath.

"Stop talking, I get it," she said with a frown. "Healing Madara is more important."

The older man gave a sharp nod.

Sakura considered this with a frown. Maybe Yoki wouldn't kill her, but punish, take the dreamworld away from her like he'd threatened before? Surely that is another motivation for her to help. But...

"Let me... bleed out... under... understandable... failure..." Boru explained. "No risk... to you..."

Sakura stilled at the dark notion that she could just let this man die, her captor, the enemy, and there would be no consequences. All it would take from her was to simply not try hard enough to save him. As a medic-nin, she could easily fake that he was beyond help even before she'd come.

"No!" she snarled, more at herself than him. She was angry for listening to this, disgusted for being tempted. "Now shut up and let me do my job in peace," she grumbled at the older man who obeyed with a smile that came out more like a grimace because of the pain he was in.

Yoki returned with the requested items and a little extra. "Here," he said, putting her old medical pouch in front of her.

"You sure you want to give it back?" Sakura asked drily as she took it. The soft material felt comforting to her touch, like a little fragment of home. She clutched the pouch to her chest.

"You can have it. There are no weapons in there. I'm not so stupid to think that you could kill me with a band-aid," Yoki scoffed. He lowered his eyes to Boru. "Just heal him," he requested quietly. "... Please."

Sakura's throat clogged up. She knew too well what it was like to almost lose a beloved teacher. Not so long, this had been her and Tsunade after the Pain's invasion. She could imagine how desperate Yoki must have felt in that moment.

"I'll do what I can," she murmured, getting back to work.

After Boru was stabilized and Yoki took him to the infirmary to rest, Sakura continued working on other injured at the scene, administering tourniquets to staunch bleeding, numbing their nerves with chakra so they could be moved and healing concussions. She lost herself in the familiar rhythm, doing what she was trained to do best, forgetting who she was exactly helping. To a true medic, a life was a life, it didn't matter who it belonged to.

When the last patient was attended to, Sakura slumped forward on her knees in exhaustion. The lack of sleep and a mild chakra depletion were getting to her.

A strange brightness fell on her and she tiredly opened her eyes. Squinting, she followed it up to the source, craning her neck back. There was a hole punched in the ceiling right above her and with a startle she realized that the light was the sun. For the first time in ages, she saw the real sky!

Unthinkingly, she lifted her arm, fingers spread as if to touch this treasure, but it remained too high for her. The great blue above was entirely out of her reach.

Sakura was returned to the infirmary to continue treatment of the wounded. Her expertise was invaluable there, as Risai specialized mostly in herbs and non-invasive methods. Despite her exhaustion, Sakura had to take the lead in most cases.

Boru was hooked up to the IV bag. After the blood transfusion he had better colours, but she spotted the signs of the rising fever. Sakura inspected his leg and sighed.

"What? What is it?" Yoki, who was at Boru's bedside, asked cagily.

Sakura rubbed her temple. "It's just as I thought. The leg is getting worse," she said. The inflammation already began and the gangrene was going to appear soon. "I can't save it."

"What does that mean?" Yoki huffed. Boru looked at her knowingly.

"It means she has to amputate my leg," he said.

"A-Amputate? That's... cutting it off?" Yoki looked appalled at his mentor.

"I'm afraid Boru-san is right," Sakura told him.

"No! You will not do it! I won't-I won't let you!" Yoki burst out. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Aren't you supposed to be a great medic?! You have to heal his leg, now!" he ordered with desperation.

Sakura shook her head sadly. "His leg can't be healed. It's completely crushed. I'm sorry." No matter how much she wished to help, it was impossible to do here. Maybe if they transported Boru to a real hospital in time...

"No..." Yoki's grasp lessened as he bowed his head. Sakura pulled his hands off her easily.

"Yoki, it's alright. I'll be fine," Boru rasped out. Yoki turned to him and glared.

"How... how can you say that? She's going to cut off _your leg_!" he cried out, bordering on hysterics.

Boru shrugged. "That's just the shinobi life," he replied philosophically. "In the end, it doesn't matter if I have this leg or not. In the Infinite Tsukuyomi I will be whole again."

Both Sakura and Yoki stared at him, astonished at his stoicism. Sakura couldn't wrap her head around it... losing a limb didn't matter because of a small chance at living in the genjutsu world?

On the other hand—yes, she could understand how Boru came to this conclusion. Wasn't she the same, willingly putting up with her daily servitude to the Red Moon because every night she was promised the bliss of the dreamworld?

"Sakura-san, please... do it quick," Boru requested and she nodded.

With the preparations for the surgery complete, Sakura turned to Yoki. "Keep him down. He can't move an inch when I cut," she told the blond ninja. Pale-faced, he swallowed and nodded, taking position at his mentor's side.

Sakura gripped the bone saw and put it over the line she had drawn on Boru's leg. She steeled her nerves and started to cut.

Boru wasn't the only patient she had to take a limb off that day. Sakura definitely missed the Konoha hospital. With its modernized facilities, substantial resources and professional staff she would've provided a proper and full healing to the injured workers. She would have saved more lives.

But she was the only one who cared about that. It was disturbing to see the Red Moon members so indifferent to their own suffering and loss. They just accepted it with the faith that the Infinite Tsukuyomi would truly make them happy and whole again. Sakura hid her urge to shake them so hard that they would finally wake up and realize how wrong all of this was.

Sakura conserved her chakra, using it only for the life-threatening injuries and leaning more on conventional methods to treat her patients, but after hours of work she was drained almost dry. Despite that and despite several people still needing assistance, a guard came to escort her to Madara's quarters.

Restoring the Rinnegan was their priority after all, she sneered inwardly.

Dirty and tired, she entered the opulent golden chambers.

"I didn't expect you to show up today," Madara commented, surveying her harrowed appearance.

"So you know what happened," Sakura said, coming closer. At first she intended to remain standing, but her legs were killing her, so she plopped down on the other side of the couch, putting the maximum distance between them.

"I heard," Madara confirmed. "Why did you come? You look half-dead."

"It's not like I wanted to come here," she replied sourly. "The Red Moon made me."

"Idiots," Madara remarked succinctly and for once Sakura was more than inclined to agree with him. "You can't possibly heal me like this," he said with a grunt of disapproval. "You need to rest."

"You're right," Sakura mumbled, stretching her body and melting into the seat with a contended sigh. "Give me... an hour..." Her eyelids grew heavy and slid shut. She knew she shouldn't let down her guard around him but she was fairly certain he had every reason to keep her alive and well.

In a moment, she was asleep.

It wasn't clear if she was still affected by the drug, as her dreams were all jumbled, a patchwork of familiar faces and strange situations as her mind worked through everything that had happened to her recently. All she knew is that when she woke up, she was very comfortably wrapped in a warm cocoon.

How unusual.

Sakura sat up abruptly, throwing off the heavy wool blanket. She didn't remember having it or laying down. A quick check revealed that she was still dressed in the same clothes, however her feet were bare. She spotted her sandals neatly laid out on the floor in front of the couch.

"You're up. Finally."

Her head whirled around to see Madara coming out of the bedroom. He changed into a red shirt.

"What time is it?" she asked scratchily.

"It's morning. Around eight o'clock, I think. Breakfast will be soon," Madara explained as he opened a mini-fridge, which she thought was a cabinet, and pulled out a water bottle. He chugged half of it down, reminding her that she hadn't drunk anything in a long while. He must have noticed her thirsty look. "Want some?" he asked with a smirk.

Sakura licked her dried lips. "Please."

He threw the bottle to her. She sipped the water slowly to combat the slight dehydration as she watched him take the seat on the armchair.

"I should get back to the infirmary," she said when she was finished drinking.

Madara shook his head. "No, you missed my healing session yesterday, so you're doing a double today." When she opened her mouth to protest, he didn't let her. "I already arranged it with the guards."

The breakfast was served then. They ate in silence, Madara simply uninterested in conversation and Sakura lost in her thoughts. She worried about her patients. Hopefully no one got worse overnight and Risai found more help to handle taking care of so many. Sakura was still angry that they couldn't go to a real hospital or at least a village clinic. All because of their precious Inifinite Tsukuyomi plan.

Sakura continued to stew even as she began the healing on Madara. Her thoughts wandered, circling around the injustice and the blind zealotry of this place. Unlike before the accident, she couldn't just shrug it away and the frustration filled her with a restless energy.

A growl came out of her throat. Madara opened one eye. "What's wrong?"

"I want to... do something," Sakura told him.

"Aren't you doing something now?"

Sakura leveled him a flat, unimpressed look. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you want to do?" Madara asked pointedly.

She crossed her arms, returning his stare, searching for her own answers in his face. She carefully weighed everything she had learned about this place and about him. Madara waited patiently for her to make up her mind.

Well, in the end, even if she couldn't trust him, she had no one else to turn to. Sakura took a breath in.

"If you didn't lie and you truly don't want to cast the Infinity Tsukuyomi," she began slowly, "then I will become your ally so we can both get out of here."

He didn't blink or show any other reaction of surprise, as if he expected her to join him all along. "But?" he prodded, guessing correctly that her cooperation came with some sort of a catch.

"But we will do it my way," she gave her condition, keeping her face calm, even though her insides were a jittery knot of nerves. If he didn't agree...

Madara's mouth quirked. "Your way? Interesting..." he mused. After a moment of contemplation that put her on the edge of her seat, he finally gave his answer with a huge smirk. "Deal."

.

.

AN: Thanks for reading!

I know this chapter was slower paced, but I hope it was still interesting. Next chapter will conclude the Red Moon mini-arc. Thank you to all my reviewers, your comments keep me writing!

Please tell me your thoughts on this chapter and see you next time :)


	17. Chapter 17

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 17**

 **.**

Just like the rest of the apartment Madara was locked in, the bathroom was big and pretentious, with complicated gold ornaments on the white tiles and many golden elements, like the showerhead, sink and even the towel hangers. However, the display of richness didn't impress Sakura, who barely batted an eye at this décor before getting to work on her little project.

Sakura was bent over the bathroom counter which was cleared off all the hygienic products and transformed into a makeshift chemistry lab. The assortment of plastic mugs and containers was laid out before her as she mixed the ingredients she had swiped from the infirmary when she had returned. Thanks to the accident, there was too much activity over there which made it easier for Sakura to scrounge up what she needed without raising the alarm. No one was paying attention and even if they did, they would think she was taking medicine for one of the patients. Technically, they would be correct as Madara was her patient.

Except that what she was making had nothing to do with his treatment.

Sakura smiled triumphantly when the mixture acquired the right colour. Even the underlying pangs of hunger didn't dampen her mood, though she was still miffed that she couldn't just take the drug she needed for herself as it was kept under lock and key. Only Risai had an access to the drug and administered it to her at the end of the day.

She heard the voices outside. It sounded like the guard. He was earlier than usual to take her back to the infirmary.

"Where's the medic?"

"Bathroom. She'll be out soon." Madara said, stalling for her.

Sakura rushed to hide her equipment in the cabinets. She slipped the vial of liquid into her pouch, then flushed the toilet and ran the sink for a short while, before stepping out.

"Finally. Give me your arm," the guard demanded. Sakura raised her eyebrow. She made no move to obey.

"Come on, I don't have the time. Give me your arm," the guard repeated irritatedly, showing her he had the syringe with her dose of heaven. Sakura reflexively gulped and made a step forward, her eyes trained on the syringe, but then stopped herself.

"Why did you bring this here? It's not the right time," she questioned this change in routine.

"What do you care? Risai's too busy and we have orders for you stay here."

"But what about my patients?"

"They're of no concern. _He_ is your only patient," the guard gestured at Madara. "Heron-sama decided that you'll heal his eyes faster without any other distractions. Now give me your arm."

Sakura quickly processed the new information. So the Red Moon's leader was getting impatient?

"It's too early. I'll fall asleep if you inject me now. I can still heal him today some more. It's what your leader wants me to do, right?" she responded. "You should just come back later."

"I have other duties to get to! I won't come back until tomorrow," the guard grumbled with exasperation. "You get this right now... or not at all." He shook the syringe at her for emphasis.

Sakura pursed her lips angrily. They were at a standstill.

"Just give it to her. She's a medic, she can inject herself at the right time.," Madara suggested.

"I'm not supposed to give her anything sharp."

"What do you think she'd going to do with it, stab someone? She's too addicted to miss her own dose and you heard her—she falls asleep right after," Madara said with an eyeroll.

"I don't know... the orders..." The guard still looked unsure.

"You can give it to me for safekeeping if you really don't want her to have it," Madara added, putting more attention to the act of digging some dirt from under his nail than the conversation.

"I-I suppose the orders didn't say anything about not giving it to you," the guard said, then promptly handed the syringe over to Madara. "I'll be back for it in the morning," he warned, giving them both the clear implication that they shouldn't try any tricks.

When they were left alone, Sakura stalked towards Madara. "Give it to me." Her hand was already outstretched towards her prize.

Madara evaded her and held the syringe high and far out of the reach of her grasping hand. "No. Work first, pleasure later."

She made a frustrated sound. "That's not it! I need the syringe, not the drug!"

"Quite convenient that you can't take one without the other."

Sakura showed him the vial of the substance she produced. "I need the syringe for this."

"What is it?" Madara asked with drawn brows, eying the murky substance with curiosity.

Sakura smirked proudly. "Our freedom."

She explained her plan.

.

Tricking the guards outside the door into coming inside was easy, mostly because at this point they didn't expect an ambush from two very cooperative and docile prisoners. Sakura and Madara knocked them out and stole their uniforms. Sakura changed in the bathroom, tightening the belt on the beige pants to fit her tiny waist. She rolled up the sleeves of the brown armoured jacket as well as the pants' legs and satisfied with the adjustments, went out.

Madara snorted upon seeing her. She gave him an unamused look. "Something funny?"

"You look like a kid trying on dad's clothes," he commented.

"Well, you look like a kid that wears his younger brother's clothes," she shot back. The uniform fitted Madara much better than her, though she noticed he had a bit of the opposite problem with the sleeves being too short on him.

Madara grimaced. She didn't suspect that he'd be that sensitive about fashion.

"Do you remember the plan?" she asked one last time just to make sure. "You will get only one shot at this. You should be able to channel a bit of chakra through this one chakra point for around an hour, before it closes... forever," Sakura explained seriously. Then she sighed. "I shouldn't even be doing this. It's a forbidden technique for a good reason. The damage will be permanent after I do this." The self-doubt was eating away at her. Her medic side rebelled against crippling people for a short-term gain in power.

Madara shook his head. "I don't care. It's still better than no chakra at all. One irreparable chakra point isn't much in exchange for freedom."

His calm reasoning gave her the confidence boost to go through with the technique. Sakura steeled herself and asked him to give her his hand. Her middle and index fingers glowed with cold blue and she speared Madara's chakra point, forcing it open.

"It's done," she whispered and let go of his hand. Madara flexed the fingers and rotated the wrist.

"I can feel something... the energy flow..." he observed in wonder.

"Can you move your chakra?"

Madara focused for a moment, then nodded. "Very small amount, but that's all I'll need."

"Great." Sakura tried a smile, but it didn't quite work out. She was too nervous. She handed him the syringe with her substance. "You know what to do with this."

"Yes."

They looked at each other, possibly for the last time. Sakura gulped. They were really going to do this. "Good luck," she bit out, wanting to just go. Drawing this out was unnecessary.

"Wait." Madara stopped her and raised his hand to quickly pull up her hood, hiding her distinctive pink hair. "Now you can go."

"... Thanks," she said, then turned abruptly.

Sakura hurried out of the quarters, with Madara right behind her. They split up, each to carry out their part of the plan.

Sakura's first stop was the supply closet. In the guard's uniform hiding her features she didn't draw attention of the few Red Moon members she bypassed on her way. She got a few bottles of cleaning products, stuffed them under her baggy jacket and climbed the stairs to the upper level.

The factory was cleaned from the rubble, but it still wasn't restored to its previous functional state. The hole in the ceiling showed her that it was already dark outside. No one was around, which allowed her free reign over the place until a possible patrol came by. The bottom line was that the drug production hadn't resumed yet and Sakura was going to ensure that it never would. She poured the bleach and other chemicals all over the pile of green leaves, the barrels of pills and the rest of remaining equipment. Then she lit a match and threw it on the very flammable liquid, which burst into flames upon contact. For a short moment, Sakura watched in satisfaction as the fire spread around the factory. She left before it could endanger her too.

When she arrived at the infirmary, she was completely ignored. All the eyes were glued to the TV.

"Brothers and sisters! I have something important to tell you," the Red Moon leader said. "It's going to be a shock to you, but I can no longer withhold the truth from you. You deserve to know it." He took a deep breath in. "We can't make the Infinite Tsukuyomi happen again. It's impossible."

The large gasp went through the room. Heron on the screen raised his hand. "Please, calm down and let me explain. The truth is, I used you. I used all of you to produce drugs and get rich. It was always my scheme from the beginning of this organization. I never intended to keep my promises, I didn't think they were actually possible to fulfill. Before you ask, yes, we captured a man that was supposed to be Uchiha Madara, but it was another lie to raise your hopes and make you work harder and faster for no payment. The real Uchiha Madara was killed in the last war and the man we captured can't even use any chakra and he never will. He only looks similar to the real Madara, nothing more."

The people around were getting agitated, unwilling to accept that everything they believed in and worked for was just a scam and their dreamworld—a beautiful lie. Heron continued his confession, talking about his impoverished past and great ambition, learning about medicine, stumbling on the special bush and experimenting with its properties. He told them how he realized the power of his new drug and thought up a scheme to lure desperate people to work for him for free. All of this to give him money and power.

Sakura sighed out in relief that Madara carried out his part of the plan without any issues. Even with a limited chakra, his genjutsu skills were nothing to scoff at. Her truth serum also was more effective as a distraction than even she expected. Heron's followers were shouting at each other, too wrapped up in their arguments to pay her any mind as she moved around the infirmary.

 _There!_ Sakura swiped the keys from Risai's counter. She walked up to to the forbidden cabinet, unlocked it and started loading up her pouch with the vials of green liquid. She estimated this amount would last her around two weeks and by then she'd figure something else out. She closed the cabinet and calmly walked out with no one the wiser about the theft. As long as she acted like she had every right to be there and do what she was doing, she wouldn't alert anyone.

"You! Wait!"

Sakura sped up into a jog, ignoring the yell while hoping it wasn't for her.

"I said wait!" Her hope was dashed when the person ran after.

A strong yank on her jacket put her to a stop as the hood fell off and pink hair tumbled out. Sakura pivoted on her heel, preparing to deck her pursuer and run.

"Sakura?!"

Her fist stopped in the air, then fell to her side. Risai was staring at her in surprise which melted into suspicion as she took in Sakura's disguise.

"You shouldn't be here... Why are you..." The rest of her question was drowned out by the blaring of the fire alarm, followed by the distant shouting echoing through the hideout.

Sakura didn't know what Risai saw in her face in that moment, but it must have been damning. Suspicion became certainty.

"Sakura... _What have you done?_ " Risai spat out, absolutely livid, her tone cutting Sakura like a sharpened kunai.

The kunoichi flinched before hardening herself. Risai wasn't a friend or a comrade. She was simply one of her captors. Sakura developed a drug addiction because of her!

"I did what I had to do," she hissed out. "You should escape when you have the chance too."

"So it's really your fault..." Risai whispered. "There really will be no dreamworld..." On the deathly paleness of her face, the horrible scars looked even more prominent, pink, puckered and sickly. "Why did you do this?!" she burst out, grabbing Sakura by the collar. "Why did you take away my dreams?! My family, my face, you took it all away! How could you?! _How could you?!_ " she screamed into Sakura's face, shaking her. Crazed, tear-filled eyes bored into her with accusation. "I thought that you were one of us, that you understood..." Risai said brokenly. Her grip slackened and she let Sakura go.

The permeating feeling of cold washed over Sakura that had nothing to do with the actual temperature of the corridor. Faced with Risai's despair, her conviction and self-righteousness abated. This was the same woman that had given her food and water when she had been rotting in that cell, drugged up and alone, the same woman that had worked alongside her tirelessly for hours, the same woman that had trusted and relied on her to save her comrades' lives. Risai was never unkind to her, the very moment they had met she'd tried to help Sakura in the only way she knew. And in exchange, Sakura stabbed this woman in the back. A bile rose in her throat and she swallowed, but didn't manage to erase the acidic, burning taste.

"I had to do this. The dreams were never real. You heard Heron, he was playing you from the very beginning. Now at least you know the truth," she said to defend herself, not knowing who she was trying to persuade more.

Risai scoffed. "Truth? You think I didn't know the truth before?" She let out a laugh tinted with madness. "The truth is that I had _nothing_ , but I thought, I believed that if I tried hard enough I could have... something. Everything. I could finally be happy, I..." she cut herself off, breathing raggedly, then raised a hate-filled gaze to Sakura along with a pointed finger. "And now, thanks to _you_ , I know for certain that _I will never have anything!_ No hope! No future! Nothing!"

The screaming and crackles of fire were getting closer. Sakura smelled the smoke. She couldn't loiter in this corridor any longer. She pushed down Risai's finger and turned away, furiously blinking. Something just got in her eyes.

"I'm leaving," she said, her voice a little rough, and took off.

"Yes, run away, you coward! Good riddance!" Risai sneered after her. "You ruined my life, Sakura! You took away my dream!" Her shouts bounced off the walls behind Sakura who only sped up her pace.

She followed the noises to the central hallway packed with a crowd of scared and confused people, trying to reach the staircase that would take them to the main exit. She stood on her tiptoes to see what was blocking the way, but she only saw the tops of heads. She cursed her short stature.

"Who's there? Why can't we go?" she questioned a haggard-looking woman on her right.

"It's those damn ninjas!" the woman hissed out. "Bastards want us to choke on the smoke and die!"

"Let us through or we'll burn! The fire is spreading!" someone in the front shouted with desperation. Others let out loud exclamations in agreement.

A man climbed a few stairs, raising above the crowd. Sakura was relieved that it wasn't Boru or Yoki but he could still recognize her if she came closer. The man put up his hands in a placating manner.

"Calm down, we won't burn! The fire is contained to the factory!" he thundered so that everyone would hear him. "We will let you out but first we need to find someone. Come one by one so we can check your identity. Be calm," the man instructed.

"It'll be faster if you just tell us who you're looking for," the same protester spoke up again.

"You know who... that slimeball that put us all down here! Heron!" the ninja declared with a grim look. He was burning with vindictiveness and Sakura immediately knew that when this man and his buddies find Heron, it wouldn't end well for their ex-boss.

This obstacle only complicated matters for her. She had to find Madara before he had a chance to ditch her and she preferred to save her anonymity, so going through a check point wasn't really an option for her.

Someone grabbed her shoulder and she spun around, ready to break his jaw, but the attack was caught before connecting.

"It's me!" the man hissed out.

"Madara?" she said in a total surprise.

"Who else did you expect?" he grumbled with an offended air.

He came back for her? Why? Rendezvous was in their plan, but she didn't think he'd actually follow that part instead of getting away on his own.

"We should be going," Madara urged her towards the stairs, but she dug in her heels.

"We can't, they're looking for Heron, but they'll recognize us," she reasoned.

"Then find another way out."

"I'm not sure there is one..." Sakura remembered the hole in the factory's ceiling and automatically dismissed it as viable option. Too fiery in there to even try. If she knew any water jutsu, she could have tried to douse the fire, though even that was doubtful. How much water that would even take? A swimming pool? A pond?

"Wait... I think I have something. Come!"

She pulled Madara along and they discreetly left the hallway. The corridor was sloping downwards. They passed the smoking hall, the communal rooms, the jail... until they reached the dead end, the cavern with a pool of water taking up half of the floor.

"What's this?" Madara asked and she remembered that he'd been unconscious back then. Sakura turned to him with a confident smile.

"This is the channel connected with a lake. We're going to get out the way we came in."

Madara gave her an impressed look. "Smart," he commented.

Sakura only grinned. The compliment felt nicer than most, maybe because when it was coming from him she was sure he said it because it was true.

"You can swim, right?" she asked, struck by the sudden urge to check.

He glared at her. "I retract what I just said."

"Oh, come on, I'm just making sure!"

"It's a stupid question now. You should have asked before bringing me here."

"You still didn't answer," Sakura countered. "Can you swim?"

Madara kept silent for a little too long as he gazed into the murky depths thoughtfully. "Oh my god, you can't?!" she gasped as the realization hit her. She'd never seen him swimming, not in the war, nor in the time since she had stumbled upon him.

"I don't remember!" he corrected her with vehemence. "I never had to swim in my memory, but I didn't remember how to use chakra too and I worked it out. If I could swim in the past, I should be able to do it by instinct too."

"And... if you don't?" Sakura hedged in. She doubted she'd manage to swim to the surface with his weight dragging her down.

Madara looked straight at her, reading her unspoken concern like she was transparent. "Then I drown," he said.

Sakura's protest died in her throat when a spike of killing intent from behind distracted her. She whirled around, barely in time to parry a blow from Yoki, who jumped back.

"You? What do you want from us?" Sakura asked. He didn't seem right, with a feverish look in his eyes and disarrayed hair falling out of his usually well-styled pompadour.

"You broke our agreement!" he spat out with a death glare and deliberately stood in the way for the exit.

"The agreement is over. You heard your leader. The Red Moon is finished," Sakura replied.

"I heard lies!" Yoki snarled. "I don't know what you did to Heron-sama, but I'm not letting you get away with our only chance for the dreamworld!"

He took a threatening step forward and Sakura reached for the sword she'd stolen off the guard. Madara brandished his too by her side.

"Don't come any closer," she warned, watching out for any sign that he was going to attack again. It was more than likely, but she still tried for a peaceful resolution. "Look, Infinite Tsukuyomi isn't really going to help you or anyone else. It just traps your mind in a happy fantasy so the body can be transformed into a mindless White Zetsu. It's not something worth fighting for."

"Shut up! This is the only way!" Yoki replied, deaf to her reason.

"The only way to _what_?!" Sakura shouted out, rapidly losing her temper at his obstinacy.

"To make things how they should be!"

She was taken aback the force of Yoki's outburst. "How they should be? What do you mean?"

"A spoiled Konoha princess like you wouldn't understand! You always had everything handed to you on a silver platter!" Yoki accused with fire in his eyes; Sakura opened her mouth to refute, because he had no right to say that to her, out of everyone in Konoha, and she had shed blood, sweat and tears to get where she was. But Yoki continued his tirade. "Here, in Ame, it's different! There are things that should never happen! A terrorist group taking over the country and inviting foreign scum to run amok, to kidnap and experiment on people, change them into monsters, then slaughter them! Families selling their children to the ninja for a bag of rice because becoming a fodder for Amegakure is better than a certain death of starvation! Only the Infinite Tsukuyomi can undo all of this!"

This sounded way too specific, like he was speaking from his own bitter experience and Sakura looked at Yoki through entirely new eyes. Every action and every word he'd spoken in the past gained a fresh meaning to her. She gripped her sword tighter.

"So you'd rather live in a lie than fix the reality?" she asked. Calmly. That gave Yoki a pause while she carried on. "You may call me spoiled. You may call me naïve or anything you want. But at least I'm not a coward!" she said with eyes blazing emerald green as she took a step forward. "Past isn't something to sweep under the rug and forget like a bad dream! Infinite Tsukuyomi won't make it any better! It'll just help you hide from the real problems!"

For a moment there, she thought she got through to him, that he really _listened._ Then Yoki shook his head, as if chasing off the reason like it was some annoying fly.

"Shut up! I've got enough of this!" he shouted and charged at her. Their blades clashed.

"Madara, go first! I'll hold him off!" she yelled, defending from Yoki's furious barrage of attacks.

She heard a splash when Madara jumped into the water. With him out of the picture, she could concentrate on fighting, though she still held the nagging worry about Madara's swimming ability.

With the tremendous strength of her next swing, Sakura sent Yoki skidding away until his back slammed into a wall. He let out a pained groan, clutching at his head. He seemed temporarily disoriented, probably from that crack in the skull she gave him, so she used the opportunity to follow after Madara.

The water was as cold and murky as she remembered. Sakura swam through the dark tunnel, but she couldn't see if Madara was in front of her. Or if his drowned body had already sank to the bottom.

Sakura chased away the morbid thoughts and doubled the speed of her strokes. As she got out of the tunnel, she headed up, towards the distant, diminutive light on the surface of the lake.

A hand grabbed her ankle and yanked her down. Sakura gasped, losing air which bubbled upwards, as she flapped wildly, trying to shake off her attacker. She didn't expect Yoki to catch up to her so soon.

One of his blows caught her between the shoulders, taking away her breath, but she managed to land a solid kick back with her free foot. The grip loosened and she shot forward, desperate to reach the surface. She was seeing dark spots from the lack of air and her lungs were burning, only her willpower stopping her from inhaling water.

A sudden pain lanced through her leg, stopping her progress. A sharp blade was buried in the meat of her thigh and she pulled it out, the red tainting the water around her. She weakly pushed her arms, but she was already sinking, dizzy with the lack of air and blood loss.

Then, Yoki was right in front of her, grinning madly as he reached out to choke out what little air still remained in her, and suddenly Sakura found her strength one last time. _If I'm going to die, I'm taking him out with me,_ she decided spitefully and as Yoki's hand touched her neck, her own fist burrowed into his gut with the full power of her fury. The crushing force propelled his wrecked body away from her, but in the water it also pushed her even lower.

 _Damn it_ , Sakura thought as the pale faraway light taunted her. Moments before she lost consciousness, she saw some dark shape tearing through the depths towards her.

Then she sank.

.

To her own surprise and relief, Sakura didn't wake up in the afterlife, but on the damp grass, coughing up water and feeling quite wretched. Just her miserable state of being confirmed that she was perfectly alive, if not particularly well.

There was someone kneeling by her side. "M-Madara?" she gasped questioningly.

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Yes?"

"You... saved me?"

He shrugged. "What's so surprising about it?"

"Well, it's you..." she muttered defensively. Despite his changes due to the lack of memory, it was still hard to wrap her mind around the concept of Madara rescuing anyone. He was hardly the hero type.

"Just count yourself lucky that I can swim or we'd both be fish food by now," he replied. "You need to have that bandaged," he pointed at her leg injury.

Sakura nodded and took off her medic pouch. She swore when she saw it was oozing the green liquid. When she opened it, she found that the stolen vials of drug were smashed to pieces, staining everything inside. The only roll of bandages she still had was soaked through and unusable.

Madara chose not to comment about her bag's contents. Instead he tore off his sleeve and wrapped it around her leg wound. "That should hold for a while," he said.

"Thanks." She gave him a pale smile. "What's the situation here? Did anyone see you?"

"No, it sounds like they're slowly gathering at the other entrance. The only one here is that idiot." He gestured off to the left where Yoki was laying face down, limbs in disarray. "He flew out of the lake. I guess that was your work?"

"Y-Yeah... Is he alive?" Sakura asked. Yoki had tried to kill her and almost succeeded, but she was still a medic-nin and she preferred not to kill if it could be avoided.

However, Madara took her question quite differently, because he stood up at once and pulled out a kunai. "I'll take care of it," he said, heading for the unconscious ninja.

"Wait, no!" she cried out, struggling to stand, but instead falling over, when her leg buckled and gave out under her.

"No? He knows too much about us. This is the only way," Madara replied dispassionately. He had the full intention to get rid of the loose end and she was helpless to stop it.

Madara knelt by the beaten ninja and raised his kunai.

"Please, stop it..." Sakura whispered in defeat and closed her eyes. She couldn't watch it.

The arm swooped for a kill.

.

.

AN: Thanks for reading!

I'm sorry for the longer wait for the chapter, I had a writer's block, but it passed. It's May, which means I started writing this fic a year ago! I never thought I would come this far, but there's still a lot of the story left for me to write.

Thanks for sticking with this fic! Please let me know your thoughts about the chapter and see you next time :)


	18. Chapter 18

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 18**

 **.**

"Don't!" the sharp command whipped through the air.

Sakura's eyes flew open. Her prayers were answered!

Boru was standing over Madara, holding his wrist in a steely grip. She had no idea how he appeared there so fast despite the crutches, but nevertheless she was relieved for his intervention. Madara looked up at the older man, unperturbed, and that still calm caused the alarm bells to go off in Sakura's head.

"Let go," Madara drawled. "Or would you prefer me to cut off that arm? That would make you more symmetrical," he coldly suggested, alluding to Boru's amputated leg.

Boru didn't even blink. "You can do with me as you wish," he replied. "Just don't kill Yoki. He's rash and stubborn but he's still my student."

"Madara, please. No one has to die here," Sakura said earnestly, hoping that they'd get through to him with reason.

Madara got up to his feet. At his full height he easily towered over the crippled shinobi. In this setting one could forget that Madara was without a drop of chakra at his disposal. Boru stood his ground unflinchingly in front of the quiet menace radiating from the legendary Uchiha.

"What about your Infinity Tsukuyomi plans? You're going to let me go, just like that?" Madara asked with suspicion.

"After you exposed Heron's lies, we're all in your debt. Releasing you is the least we can do to pay it back," Boru explained.

Madara snorted. "This one doesn't see it that way," he gestured at the knocked out Yoki.

"Let me worry about him," Boru said dismissively, like it wasn't a big concern to him. And maybe it really wasn't if he had as much influence over the young shinobi as it looked like.

Madara came to the same conclusion. "Alright," he said and slid the kunai back into the holster, then he stepped back, his murderous intent dissipating like smoke on the wind.

Sakura breathed out in relief. Her leg was still giving her trouble so she used the stolen sword (that miraculously survived her swim) to get up and hobble towards the other shinobi. "Let me see him," she demanded when Boru put himself in front of his student protectively. "I can help with his injuries," she said in ways of explanation and the older man's expression softened. Boru nodded and let her through.

She kneeled at Yoki's side and quickly assessed his condition. After making sure that she could move him safely, she turned him on his back.

A shocked gasp came from Boru at the sight of Yoki's grisly injury. Even Sakura winced as her fingers lit up with the green glow over the nasty black and purple torso. Her punch had landed true and pummeled the shinobi's insides. She first set out to healing his ruptured organs, which were the main cause of concern.

"You know you don't have to do this. I understand he attacked you," Boru said.

She spared him a brief glance and a smile. "I still feel responsible. I could've killed him, so just let me do this. For my own peace of mind," she replied ruefully.

" _You_ did this?" Boru muttered, clearly taken aback. "I thought Madara..."

Said man arched a brow. "If it was me, he wouldn't be alive," he grumbled.

That startled a short laugh from Sakura. The situation was utterly ridiculous—she was flattered that her strength was mistaken for Madara's while he was acting offended that someone would think such attack of his wouldn't be lethal.

"Well, it's lucky that I'm better at healing than killing," Sakura commented in a lighthearted tone.

"Then I'm grateful it was you who fought Yoki, Sakura-san. And for your assistance now," Boru said with a bow.

Sakura graciously accepted his thanks as she finished the healing. After the adrenaline went down, she felt pretty drained, so she only stabilized Yoki. He was in no mortal danger, but he still got a lot of bruising and broken ribs which she left to heal on their own. In any case, he'd be incapacitated and bed-ridden for a long time.

"I'm done," she announced, letting the green chakra flicker out. She gave Boru instructions for Yoki's recovery, then stood up with difficulty. Her eyes lingered on Boru's stump and the crutches he used.

"So you're really giving up on Infinite Tsukuyomi fixing that for you?" she asked.

Boru shrugged. "I wanted it to so much, but what's done is done. It was a long shot anyway and I can live without a leg."

"You should try getting a prosthesis," she told him. "Konoha's still developing the technique to mass-produce artificial limbs, but we're sending out what we can to Alliance hospitals."

"I'll keep this in mind. Goodbye, Sakura-san, Madara-san. I think it'll be better if we won't meet again." Boru hefted up Yoki's body on one shoulder and transported away.

Madara sidled up to Sakura and put her arm over his shoulder. "Let's go."

"This is going to take forever before we reach a town," Sakura complained about their slug-like pace as she hobbled, leaning heavily on his shoulder. Being put in a position of weakness and requiring his help was frustrating.

"Then you should've healed your leg instead of that idiot," Madara commented mercilessly.

"It's called triage. My wound isn't life-threatening unlike Yoki's injuries. I can afford to heal myself later," Sakura replied in a huff.

It was getting harder for her to breath. She was already dead tired on her feet, even though usually she'd had a lot more stamina. The gnawing need she had willfully ignored up until then chose to make itself known again and Sakura instinctively reached into her pouch before remembering that her drug stash had been destroyed.

With every step, Sakura felt like she was sinking into a black mud, her senses getting shut down. She desperately looked to Madara. "Help..." she managed to say before blacking out.

Sakura didn't remember what happened next. She was struggling with a severe cold turkey and the violent withdrawal symptoms messed with both her head and body. She wallowed in her miserable condition, shaken and weakened by nausea, chattering her teeth from extreme cold, then sweating buckets from the sudden heat, all the while suffering from nightmarish hallucinations.

 _Weak. Failure. Incompetent._ A parade of faces she knew taunted her with sneers.

"No, it's not true. You're all wrong..." Sakura wanted to cry, but she didn't let herself. She was stumbling around a dark corridor of the Red Moon base, searching for her salvation. "If only I had the drug, there wouldn't be a problem..."

 _Really, Sakura? You're relying on a drug for strength?_ Sasuke appeared before her. _This isn't like you._

"But I need just a little... it'll be easier on me to slowly decrease the dose..." she reasoned.

Sasuke's apparition shook his head. _The_ c _orrect path is never easy and you know it._

"I don't know if I can withstand this any longer..." Sakura admitted. The prolonged suffering was sapping away at her sanity. Her mental fortitude was crumbling. This was too hard for her and she was going to die, this much was certain. She didn't even try to stop the tears anymore and they burst out of her with anguished cries.

Amid her turmoil, Sasuke was the sole pillar of strength, unmoved by her crying. His hand tangled in her hair and combed through it carefully. _It's not about if you can, because you can. You have to get through this. You need to do this or everything will be lost._

He removed his hand and turned to go.

"Sasuke-kun? Where are you going? Don't leave me!"

A tap on her forehead, a gentle smile. _See you next time._

He was gone.

"Sasuke-kun!" she cried out and opened her eyes to a brightness. She shielded her eyes with a pained groan.

She heard footsteps on the creaking floorboards. "Are you awake?" came a brisk question from the bedside.

Sakura peeked over and gaped.

"Sasuke?"

"Stop calling me that," the man said with exasperation. To her befuddled mind, this man looked like Sasuke, but after a moment she began to notice all the differences that set them apart.

"Madara?" she gasped. If he was there, then everything she'd gone through, the imprisonment, the torture, the fighting—it was all real. Sakura realized this with dismay.

"So you remember my name. Good."

They stared at each other. Sakura still felt unfocused, disoriented and weak. What's worse, she didn't know what he was planning and why he stayed around when he'd had a perfect opportunity to disappear from her radar. This uncertainty made her nervous. She slid up to lean her back against the headboard.

"Where am I?" she finally asked.

"Land of Fire," Madara replied. "Before you ask, it's been ten days since we've escaped. No one came after us so far, but you got sick so I brought you to the closest safe place I could find."

Sakura blinked. "Why?" She should be thanking him, but the burning curiosity to know _why_ made her blunter than she intended.

"Why what?"

"Why do you keep helping me? You saved me how many times, three? Why?"

Madara tilted his head. "Isn't that what allies do? Help each other?"

Something in her chest clenched and she looked away in embarrassment. He was consistently defying her expectations and it confused her. She needed to stay aloof and suspicious, but it was getting increasingly difficult when she felt like she was in the wrong somehow. "Yes, but we agreed to cooperate only to escape. You didn't have to do anything more for me after that and I didn't expect you to," she said, forcing herself to keep her tone level as she met his eyes.

"I suppose so. What's your point?" he asked with a shrug.

Sakura frowned. "Don't tell me you don't have any ulterior motive. You can't be helping me out of the goodness of your heart," she accused point blank.

"It's not up to you what I can or can't do," he replied in a low tone, boring his dark eyes into her. "You should just forget Madara from the past, like I forgot him. Maybe then you'd stop underestimating me."

Sakura frowned in confusion. _She_ was underestimating him? She shook her head. Even disregarding his past deeds, he was still extremely dangerous. "I can't trust you if I don't know what you're after."

"That's something I'm still trying to figure out," Madara admitted. "And I think you might be the one to help me out with it."

"You're asking... for my help?" she asked faintly, taken aback by the vulnerability he displayed.

"I did say that allies help each other. So in a way you're right, I had a reason to save you other than your pretty face," he said wryly.

She averted her eyes, struggling to come to grips with all the implications. Uchiha Madara, the legendary shinobi, wanted her, a civilian-born kunoichi from a no-name family to become his ally. As unbelievable as it sounded, she found herself not hating the idea. During the time in the Red Moon's captivity, he was the man who argued and annoyed her, but also went along with her ideas and saved her life multiple times. In return, she attempted to heal him and found a way to freedom. They came to depend on each other and a certain camaraderie was born of that. She couldn't just shake it off and forget it had existed.

Sakura wanted to trust Madara, but she was still afraid to. What if she made a mistake? What if he fooled her with his act and used her trust against those she cared about? She'd never be able to forgive herself if that happened. But she also wouldn't forgive herself if she gave up on this new bond just because she was scared. If Sasuke got a second chance, then Madara deserved one too.

"I can't be your ally if it means betraying my village and Shinobi Alliance," she finally told him. "My loyalty is to Konoha."

"That's fine. All I need is that you keep my existence a secret."

After this agreement, Sakura quickly recuperated and soon set out on her way back to the village. She half-expected Madara would change his mind, but he didn't.

"You're really just letting me go?" she asked, standing at the doorstep and ready for travel.

"I trust you," he replied like it was something obvious.

This show of trust from Madara made Sakura all the more determined to keep her word. She had one last moment of doubt when she faced Kakashi to give her report, but in the end she lied by omitting Madara's presence at the Red Moon incident.

Sakura spent her days back in Konoha productively, working on the children's clinic, but also researching amnesia and memory restoration techniques. Ino helped her a lot, of course unaware of the real purpose for why Sakura would be interested in this topic.

And then, Sakura was summoned to the Hokage's office where Kakashi threw her a scroll. She was specifically requested for a mission by a private client.

His name was Hayabusa.

.

"Back then, Madara wanted to use his chakra again, but it wasn't so easy. His body still had regenerative powers, however it helped only a little with repairing his chakra system. I developed a special therapy that could slowly restore a fraction of his chakra, around genin level at most. You can imagine that wasn't nearly enough for him. Also, eventually I realized that his amnesia was linked to the chakra barrier in his brain. There had to be something that would trigger his memory and release the barrier, giving him back his full power. After I told him, he became obsessed with learning about his past and the Uchiha clan. I couldn't help him much because a lot of the older records were lost, but he visited every known place associated with his past, like the Valley of the End or Mountain Graveyard. Nothing worked and he started getting resigned to his fate. My help wasn't necessary to him anymore and with the small amount of chakra he wasn't a threat. That was when I left with Sasuke-kun on our journey and lost all contact with Madara."

Sakura stopped talking. She drank some water as she kept staring intensely into flames. Silence fell over the camp as everyone absorbed her tale. Only the fire crackled.

"Sakura-chan, you shouldn't have kept something this huge from us. We're your teammates, we always help each other, remember?" Naruto said, looking genuinely hurt and upset.

"I remember you two kept important things from me too," she reminded him sharply.

Naruto had the decency to look away in shame. "True..."

"Mom, what about that picture of you and Madara?" Sarada asked.

"That was from the last time I saw him before going off with your dad. Madara actually found me at that festival, so I invited him to come along. I thought he needed to loosen up a bit..." Sakura said with a distant smile. "We had fun at first but then I had to say goodbye to him. He wasn't upset, so I thought everything was going to be okay... I had no idea..." She broke off, her body trembling.

Sasuke's hand slid into hers and squeezed slightly, providing wordless comfort. Sakura got a hold of herself.

"Do you know what caused that chakra block and how Madara regained his memory?" Sasuke asked.

"He never explained it to me... though I have a theory who did this. Only someone as powerful or more than Madara could do this. And back then in the war there was only one..."

"Wait, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "You don't mean it was Kagu-"

"It was that meddling old man, right?" Sasuke interrupted.

Sakura nodded. "That's my best guess. Only he had the power and knowledge to pull it off back then."

"Tch."

"But why the old man Sage would do this to Madara?" Naruto said out loud what they were all wondering, except Sarada who looked at the adults in confusion.

"I wish I knew," Sakura replied with a sigh. "Regaining his memories changed him. And that's when he came back to me."

Sasuke, Sarada and Naruto straightened up and listened closely. Sakura took in a breath and continued her story.

"It was after Sasuke-kun had left to investigate the remnants of Kaguya's chakra..."

.

Sakura was alone at the new Uchiha house in Konoha. She had her little daughter with her, so she wasn't _really_ alone, and taking care of the baby took so much of her day, but the happiness was somehow diluted in her husband's absence. In the darkest hours of the night, when it was quiet and the baby was sleeping soundly between feedings, Sakura was at her loneliest. The house felt so empty without Sasuke there to share it with.

Sakura was laying in the bedroom and staring at the ceiling, wishing so hard for her husband to come back to her, when she heard sounds from the baby's room. A man's voice.

Her heart leaped to her throat and she dared to hope. She quickly got up and opened the door to baby's room, which she always left ajar anyway, to peek in.

A cloaked man was holding the sleeping baby Sarada in his arms. The door creaked in its hinges and he swiveled around. Sakura glimpsed the Rinnegan behind a black fringe and relaxed.

"Sasuke-kun?" she called out softly, holding onto the doorframe.

"You need to stop confusing me with him," the man replied.

"Madara!" she gasped in surprise. "What are you doing here?" she asked, stalling for time, as she tried to wrap her head around his restored eye power. Those purple, concentric circles in his eyes made her apprehensive.

"I'm here for something," he said enigmatically, which only doubled her sense of worry. She didn't like how he was holding Sarada so close to his chest, her instincts screaming at her to take back her baby _right now_. In the years since they had become allies, she wasn't scared of him, but now he seemed so different, much closer to the monster he'd once been.

"Tell me what it is and I'll help you," she said, playing it cool as she took a step forward, eyes trained on Sarada. She was itching to just rush forward and grab her baby from Madara.

"Then you won't mind me taking this Uchiha child with me," he said and jumped out of the window.

"No! Sarada!" Sakura cried out in horror, then without thinking gave pursuit.

With his full chakra back, Madara was incredibly fast, but she managed to keep up. She was so panicked, so focused on saving her daughter, she didn't think about anything but chasing him down before she lost him from her sight.

Madara lured her far out of the village, deep into the woods. Somewhere no one would interfere. Sakura attempted to fight him and take back Sarada, however he had his Perfect Susanoo and Wood Style and she didn't dare use her full strength, fearing that Sarada would be hurt. When they both finally came to stop, she was tired, terrified and desperate to hold her daughter again.

"Please, give her back to me! I'm her mother! She needs me! Please!" Sakura begged. "What do you even need her for? She's just a baby!"

"She's not just any baby. She's the next generation of the Uchiha clan. She will grow powerful. With proper guidance." Obviously he meant himself.

"Please, you don't have to take her from me! It doesn't have to be like this!" Sakura tried to convince him again. "Have you thought about having your own baby instead?" she suggested.

Madara scoffed. "With who? I will allow only the strongest woman to be my child's mother." Despite his proud words, there was a glint of interest in his eyes. He was intrigued by her idea, so she pushed forward with it.

"I could help you find someone suitable. I know many powerful kunoichi from all major villages," Sakura offered.

"No. There is only one woman good enough," Madara said, staring at her intently. "You."

She took a step back in shock. "W-What? No... I can't. I'm married."

But her protests fell on deaf ears.

"You're the only woman who took part in the final battle in the war," Madara pointed out. "You're Haruno Sakura, known as Senju Tsunade's successor and the most powerful kunoichi in the world."

" _Uchiha_ Sakura," she corrected. "And I'm _married,_ " she repeated, but Madara ignored it again.

"Exactly, and you're also the only woman alive that already gave birth to a strong Uchiha child. You should have no problems with one more," he said with a smirk.

"You... you can't expect me to... betray my husband..." she said in disbelief. She was shaking all over, slowly getting consumed by despair.

"I think I once told you that it's not up to you what I can or can't do," he replied dangerously. "Of course, you can always choose to not agree and let me take your daughter, but I don't expect you to do so," he said with a careless shrug as Sakura glared at him, feeling helpless and cornered. He was right, she would never abandon her daughter like that. Sarada was her first priority, nothing was more important than her child's safety and happiness. Nothing.

Even... even her vows...

"If you want this little one back, you will give me a child. That's my condition. After the birth, you and your daughter can go back to Konoha," Madara dictated to her mercilessly. "Do you understand, Sakura?"

Sakura closed her eyes. _I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun... this is for Sarada._

"I... I understand," she said with a waver.

She swallowed her tears with a tiny sob, her head hanging down. She hated herself for making that choice, but she had no other options. She couldn't hope to fight and defeat him by herself, not when he had his power back. Madara came closer and put a hand on her cheek. He wiped off a tear with his thumb gently. She stared at him in surprise.

"Tears don't suit you," he remarked and quickly took his hand back before she could slap it away. "I won't harm you or your daughter. That's a promise."

.

"Then Madara took us to an isolated house in a remote place away from civilization. Now I think it was somewhere in Snow Country. I had no idea where I was and how to get home. At least Madara kept his promise and didn't harm us. He didn't restrain my chakra, because it could harm the new baby's development, but he put barrier seals on the house and the surrounding area. I was effectively under house arrest and unable to leave unless he let me out. That's where I stayed with Sarada until Kazuki was born."

Sakura wasn't looking at any of them. She was holding her knees to her chest, curled up to look smaller.

"I was too naïve. I shouldn't have tried being his friend in the first place, but I believed in second chances... It seemed like a right thing to do at the time. If I told any of you or Kakashi about Madara, all of this wouldn't have happened," Sakura said with self-loathing. "This is entirely my fault."

How long had she thought to herself these words to say them so calmly, to accuse herself so precisely?

"It's not your fault," Sasuke said with a vicious edge. "It's mine." He stood up and stalked off into the forest.

Sarada looked like she wanted to go after him, but Naruto stopped her with a shake of his head.

"Let him be. Your dad just needs a minute to clear his head," Naruto said.

They heard the sound of the chirping of birds and then the crash of a falling tree.

"I'll talk to him," Sakura decided, getting up just as abruptly as her husband had done.

When she disappeared into the forest, Sarada looked at Naruto.

"Are they going to be okay?" she asked anxiously. No wonder she was worried, she'd never seen her parents together when they were under such volatile emotions, so she looked to the only other reliable adult for reassurance.

"It's Sasuke and Sakura-chan, they'll work it out. They're not angry at each other, they're angry with themselves. Especially your dad," Naruto explained.

Sarada nodded, a little relieved. Naruto watched her as she fell deep in thought. How this story of the past would affect the young Uchiha? He was starting to regret that they allowed her to be a part of this conversation. She seemed too young to hear about such heavy and mature topics, even if he could tell Sakura was moderating her narration for her child's sake. But this was Naruto's uncle side talking. As the Hokage, he was more than aware that very soon he'd be sending Sarada on missions for the village. She'd be then expected to deal like an adult with the unsavory aspects of the world.

Naruto rubbed his head and sighed, feeling the weight of responsibility of his office.

A while later, the bushes rustled and Sasuke returned.

"So, you two made up?" Naruto asked, then frowned, craning his head to look behind his friend. "Where's Sakura-chan?"

"She's not here?" Sasuke asked.

"No, she went to talk to you..." Naruto trailed off and swore.

In the same moment, they exchanged a look of realization.

Sakura escaped.

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AN: Thanks for reading and your continued support! It really helped me to write this chapter as fast as I could.

A lot happened in this chapter and a lot is still going to happen in this story. I'm looking forward to your reactions :)

Please review and see you next time!


	19. Chapter 19

**The Man from the Picture**

 **Chapter 19**

 **.**

It took Sasuke a split second to realize that Sakura had tricked them all.

"Naruto!" he barked at his best friend who understood his meaning with a single look.

"Yeah!" A Kyuubi cloak enveloped the Hokage who closed his eyes in concentration, searching for Sakura's chakra.

"Well?" Sasuke asked tersely after a few seconds of silence.

"I don't know, this is weird... I can't find her chakra. It's like she's masking it," Naruto replied with a frown.

Sasuke's brow creased. If Sakura was hiding her chakra, she couldn't use it to run, which didn't make much sense if she was attempting to shake them off and return to Madara.

"When you last saw her, where did she go?" he demanded.

"She said she was going to talk to you, she went that way," Sarada said in a subdued tone and showed him the direction.

Sasuke immediately headed there, his Rinnegan blazing with purple as he took in the chakra traces. His own potent chakra released in the earlier bout of anger was obscuring Sakura's subtle chakra 'footprints', but he was able to follow them, not to mention the visible tracks she had left passing by. Sarada followed him wordlessly.

"Dad, what are you going to do?" she asked.

"Find your mother and bring her back," he replied without sparing her a glance.

"But she ran," Sarada said quietly. "She ran from us, Dad."

He was aware. It was like a bleeding deep wound he couldn't just put a band-aid on. If it felt like Sakura stabbed him in the back, what Sarada had to be going through?

What was even worse, Sasuke had suspected Sakura was planning to run, but when it actually happened, he felt... surprised. Betrayed. He didn't actually expect her to run from him, not after hearing her story. But he was coming to realize that even her long tale had a purpose. It was meant to stall for time, to make him lower his guard as he wallowed his personal anguish and self-recrimination. He was impressed despite himself. Apart from Naruto, only Sakura knew him so well to pull off this kind of a ruthless plan.

And she wasn't even lying. Every word she said was true, he knew it. She might have omitted more sordid details in front of their daughter, but she was sincere. He knew all her tells, he knew his wife, he knew Sakura. She was always a terrible liar.

But using the truth to her advantage? She could do that.

Still, cunning or not, he would not let her plan succeed. With so little time, she couldn't have gotten too far. It was just a matter of catching her and Sasuke had over ten years of experience under his belt.

In the darkness, under the canopy of trees, it was hard to see anything, but Sasuke pushed on, Sharingan and Rinnegan registering fleeting wisps of Sakura's chakra. He came to a wider gap between which was still too narrow to be called a clearing. It was positively saturated with Sakura's energy. She performed a jutsu there, but what kind? She didn't know any teleportation techniques, did she? Could she have learned any during all those years?

"Did you find something?" Sarada asked after he came to the sudden stop. She broke into a jog to catch up, but she suddenly slipped and fell on the ground. "Ow! Gross! Who put this stuff here?!" she exclaimed, lifting up her hand covered in a glimmering substance. She was kneeling in a puddle of it.

Sasuke pulled her up, then bent to inspect the slime. He swore under his breath.

"Sasuke!" Naruto burst out of the trees, his fire-like chakra cloak lighting up the area. "Sakura-chan, I know what she did! She summoned-"

"A slug, I know," Sasuke replied calmly, standing up. "You think she then reverse summoned or-"

"The slug's chakra is still around, I can feel it moving through the local natural chakra field," Naruto interrupted him. "But it's going to be very hard to track it while running."

As Naruto had once explained it to him, the summons used natural chakra too. Tracking them was like following an unstable current within a sea of chakra, which was randomly strengthening or weakening. Sasuke ran up the tree, bit his thumb and slammed his hand on the branch, summoning a giant hawk.

"Sasuke-sama," the majestic bird greeted him.

"Garuda, I need a favour."

Sasuke shortly explained the situation and soon the three of them flew up in the air on the back of the summon. Sasuke stood at the front, near the animal's head, his eyes combing through the forested planes below, looking for the movement of a large slug, while Naruto sat cross-legged behind him, focusing on the fluctuations in the natural chakra. Sarada was at the back, also looking down in hopes of spotting something.

Flying on the actual bird felt very different from Susanoo, just like riding a horse wasn't the same as travelling in a wagon. Susanoo was much faster but Sasuke was conserving his energy, expecting that Sakura's recapture wouldn't be so easy this time around. Besides, surely a hawk should beat a slug when it comes to speed anytime.

"Uh-oh," Naruto muttered.

"What?" Sasuke snapped at him.

"She sent decoys. I sense several slugs going in different directions. What do we do?"

"She summoned more?" Sasuke asked. He would have detected a use of jutsu of that magnitude, a spike of chakra, but there had been nothing.

"No, I guess her slug divided into more smaller slugs, you know, like Katsuyu," Naruto replied.

"What about Sakura then?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nothing. Still hiding."

Sasuke thought hard. He knew Sakura, the way her clever mind worked to come up with efficient, smart solutions. Even though she was known for her infamous punches, Sakura's real strength was her intelligence. She was a master at sneaking around and taking her opponent by surprise. That's how she managed to escape in the first place, so what would she...

"Turn back! Quickly!" Sarada cried out.

"Did you see something, Sarada-chan?" Naruto asked.

"No, but I just know Mom is going back to trick us! That's what I would do if I was trying to escape from you both..." the girl cut off with the air of embarrassment, realizing that just a few days ago, that's exactly what she had done.

"Good thinking, Sarada-chan! Like mother, like daughter, eh?" Naruto commented with a grin.

On Sasuke's command, with a flap of his mighty wings, Garuda turned around in an arc and flew back in the direction they came from. The cold wind whipped at their faces and clothes as the bird cut through the air at a high speed. Sarada shivered and rubbed her exposed arms, when her father threw his cloak at her. She fumbled a little before managing to bundle herself up in the warm material.

"Sarada-chan was right, there's only one slug going this way," Naruto informed them. His brow furrowed. "Wait... it stopped..."

A giant crash came from below, shaking the trees and startling the animals into a panicked run. Sasuke caught the monumental flare of Sakura's chakra, then his eyes widened in shock. A massive tree trunk was hurtling straight at them!

"Garuda!" he reflexively warned his summon at the same time realizing that it wouldn't make a difference, the hawk wouldn't manage to dodge the attack in time. Sasuke jumped off, channeling the electric current into his sword, and sliced down. He flew through the center of the tree as he cut it in half, the divided wood chunks harmlessly whizzing past the bird and its passengers.

"Dad!" Sarada cried out after him.

Sasuke plummeted down towards his target, sword held out first as a conduit for the lightning chakra gathering around him. Like a bolt from the sky, Sasuke struck the ground with a thunderclap, taking out a few trees that stood in his way. He rose from the crater slowly, not a single hair out of place as his heterochromatic eyes found his quarry.

"Sakura," he intoned.

"Sasuke," she replied without an ounce of fear. "I need you to let me go."

His gaze narrowed in irritation. What she was speaking was absurd. "Why? So you would go back to the man that kept you captive for years?"

Sakura shook her head. "You don't understand. I have to go back!"

Chakra burst forward, constructing Susanoo's upper half around him in seconds. "I won't allow it," Sasuke declared harshly. He once failed to protect her from Madara, he wouldn't do so again. Even if he had to use force against her. The time for talking was over when she decided to run.

Sakura clenched her fists as she took the fighting stance, Yin Seal unfolding from her mark and spreading on her skin. "You can try," she hissed dangerously.

Their powerful wills clashed and everything around came to a standstill, creating a moment of calm before the storm. Then, as if on the unspoken command, they simultaneously burst into movement.

The Susanoo swiped its gigantic hand, intending to grab Sakura and thus restrain her without causing her too much harm, but she already jumped out of the way and darted forward, fist cocked for a monstrous punch. The second arm fired a chakra arrow at her feet, forcing her to sidestep into the path of the next grab, however Sakura evaded both attacks with her supreme agility.

Sasuke relentlessly tried to entrap her in Susanoo's unbreakable hold but Sakura always slipped out of his grasp. It was like catching smoke—simply impossible. They both needed to change tactics, because this was going nowhere.

Sakura somersaulted over the Susanoo arm and dashed towards the untouched trees, hoping to break away from the fight. If she lured him out of the open space, he wouldn't be able to use Susanoo as effectively against her and she'd gain advantage and a real chance to get away.

"No!" Sasuke shouted and reflexively let loose of his Mangekyo. The black flames sprouted right in front of the kunoichi, cutting off her escape. She skidded and turned back, but it was still too close and her long sleeve caught on fire. Sakura ripped it off and quickly threw it away, the fabric turning to ash while still in the air. The deep red burn on her arm healed rapidly with a hiss as the melted skin cells were shed and replaced by new, healthy ones.

When Sakura looked up from the fresh pink skin on her arm to Sasuke, something in her eyes shifted. Amaterasu wasn't a technique to use lightly and especially not on a mission to capture. Sakura lowered her chin, staring defiantly at him, though a sort of resignation entered her eyes. But if he was willing to use deadly force, then she had no choice but to retaliate in kind.

"So this is how it is... You're no better than Madara," she said.

Sasuke bristled. "Don't compare me to that monster," he replied icily.

"It's hard not to, when you treat me the same! I'm just a convenient tool to you, aren't I? You think you can discard me, then take me back whenever you damn please?! That's not going to happen!" she burst out angrily and charged at him.

"What are you talking about?!" Sasuke asked as she nimbly avoided his swipes. She was going straight at him, fist raised for an earth-shattering blow. "I never discarded you!" he yelled.

"Hot Springs Country, remember?! I wanted you to save me from him! But you didn't come!"

A shock of surprise made him falter and drop his guard entirely, arm hanging limp on his side. Sakura ruthlessly seized the chance and sprang forward.

"Shannaroooo!" she let out her war cry and punched the Susanoo. For a second it seemed as if everything was static and unmoving. Time stopped as their eyes met through the barrier of Susanoo. Her determined, steely glare held so much anger, frustration and resentment, but under it all, despite his own shock, he noticed the undercurrent of desperation in every taut line of her body.

Then a crack in the armour appeared.

The spiderweb of cracks spread all over Susanoo and with one last push of energy in her arm Sakura broke through it and hit Sasuke in the stomach. He didn't even defend himself, he just took it on. The force of the punch knocked him hard to the ground and he tasted blood and dirt in his mouth.

Sasuke coughed weakly, pain lancing through his broken body. He had no strength to move, he wasn't even sure if he was physically capable to. Sakura was standing over him, breathing harshly and her arm still extended. She slowly looked at her still clenched fist then down at him, her expression changing into disbelief and horror as her senses returned to her.

"Oh god..." Her body shook like a leaf and she fell to her knees by his side, tears filling her sorrowful eyes. The markings over her body returned to the diamond seal on her forehead. "I... I didn't mean to... I'm so sorry!" she sobbed out. Sasuke mused that he must have made a truly sorry sight for her to cry like that.

Sakura's hands lit up with green chakra and she immediately pressed them to his middle. The healing chakra flowed into him, numbing the pain.

"I'll... live..." Sasuke rasped out. The tough guy act made Sakura snort with amusement, but at least she stopped crying. Sasuke's mouth quirked up. He felt ridiculously pleased with himself for accomplishing such a small feat.

Sakura wiped her drying tears and continued healing him. "You should have dodged that with your speed," she commented. "I could have killed you and you let me," she said quietly. "Why?"

"Maybe I deserved it," he replied.

Sakura's lip trembled. "Don't... Don't say things like that. You didn't deserve to be hurt."

"You still held back," Sasuke pointed out. They both knew too well that Sakura's punches were devastating. If she had gone full out, he'd have been turned into a smear on the ground.

Sasuke didn't mind the pain. It was immaterial next to what he gained in the exchange. Sakura may have hurt him, but she still cared enough to cry over him and heal him. Somewhere in her battered heart, she still loved him. His efforts weren't in vain.

"In one way, you are right," she spoke up. "You really are nothing like Madara. He would've never let me land a blow like that. If he was in your place, he would've crushed me." She sounded distant, but certain, unlike someone who only speculates, and Sasuke picked up on it immediately.

"Did he?" he asked sharply, but she averted her eyes. "Did he crush you, Sakura?" Sasuke repeated the question.

Sakura took her hands away from him abruptly. "You're stable for now, the medics in Konoha will be able to finish healing you on their own," she changed the topic.

She made to stand up, but he grabbed her wrist. "Don't go," Sasuke said. It wasn't a command this time. "Please."

His single black eye was focused solely on her with a calm intensity that weakened her willpower. Sakura couldn't withstand it, so she turned away and tugged her hand, but he held on.

"Sasuke, let me go," she said hoarsely.

"You were wrong," he told her. "I waited for you. Two weeks in Hot Springs Country, I waited. You never showed up."

Sakura's head whirled back to stare at him, eyes narrowed in angry disbelief. "Don't lie to me like that," she hissed harshly. " _You weren't there_."

Sasuke met her glare with calm confidence. "I'm not lying," he said simply, honesty shining through. It couldn't be denied, it only had to be believed. "I was there."

Sakura's breath hitched and all her sharpness vanished, leaving only confusion in its wake. "But... this doesn't make any sense... That's not how I remember it..." she trailed off, her face becoming pale and drawn like she was in pain. She pulled her hand out of his hold and rubbed at her temple with a groan, eyes closed. "No... this is wrong..." she muttered to herself.

"Sakura," he called her name, trying to bring her back.

"Dammit!" she cursed under her breath, clutching at her head, as she struggled with herself. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" she cried out in utter frustration. Green eyes snapped open and she sprang to her feet. "This doesn't change anything. I need to go," she said.

As the last resort, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and cast the genjutsu to knock her out like before. Sakura swayed on her feet when it took effect and he exhaled in relief, thinking that it worked, but then she regained her footing. The genjutsu was too weak or maybe Sakura's will was too strong to suppress, he didn't know. "This isn't going to work on me for a second time. You can't stop me," she told him.

"Are you just going to keep falling into Madara's traps? Don't you care he's using you?" Sasuke demanded angrily. He breathed in and out to get his emotions under control, then continued. "Stay with me. With our daughter. We need you," he pleaded with her.

Sakura shook her head, fresh tears glimmering like little diamonds in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun, I really am!" she said tremulously. "I want to stay with you! But my son needs me more. I'm the only one who can protect him," she explained, her expression shutting down. She turned to go.

"Sakura!" he called after her helplessly from the ground, his insides twisting up in agony that had nothing to do with his injuries. He needed to go after her, to change her mind somehow. Desperately, he dug his hands into the ground and tried to lift himself up, but the splitting pain in his abdomen made him fall down again on the sharp stones and roots that ripped his shirt and gouged into his back. Sasuke gasped from the sting, but he had no intention of staying down. With a strong push that made him dizzy, he turned to lay on his stomach, then sank his fingers into the dirt and started to crawl. "Sakura," he rasped, his eyes fixed on her boots as she walked away. He gritted his teeth and reached out in futility, watching as she got farther and farther away from him.

"Stop right there!" Naruto and a band of his clones jumped out of the cover, the glowing chakra enveloping them as they surrounded Sakura. Sasuke felt lighter. He was starting to worry about the dobe, but as always Naruto managed to come through for him. "Sakura-chan! Please stop! I don't want to hurt you!" the Hokage yelled in warning.

Sakura clenched her fists with a feral look. "No, Naruto, _I_ don't want to hurt _you_."

She charged forward and the clones swarmed her. Sakura's arms and legs blurred as she dispatched them with a flurry of powerful punches and kicks. The smoke from the beaten clones obstructed the view of the battle.

Suddenly and inexplicably, Sakura froze mid-punch. It took her only a split second to realize what had happened, but it was already too late.

"Kagemane complete! Now!" Shikamaru stepped out of the shadows, already sweating from the strain of keeping Sakura in place.

Sakura screamed and struggled to break out of the jutsu's hold. Shikamaru wasn't going to last long against her monstrous strength, however he brought reinforcements. Kakashi jumped out and unrolled a long scroll while Sai quickly applied seals on it with his paintbrush. The activated scroll wrapped tightly around Sakura, taking away her ability to use chakra. Her unconscious body would have slammed senselessly onto the ground, but Naruto caught her in the nick of time. A curtain of pink hair covered her face.

"Dad!" Sarada ran up to Sasuke after the fight was finished. "Are you okay? I saw Mom healing you, but this looks really bad," she blurted out, brow creased with worry. He didn't miss the dried tear tracks on her cheeks.

"I'll be fine," he said with a grunt. He reached out with his hand and Sarada helped him sit up, though he had to lean heavily on her.

Kakashi ambled up to them.

"Sasuke, Sakura is secured and ready to transport. Good job tiring her out for us," he said.

Sasuke snorted, then winced. His ribs were still very sore. "I had no idea you lot would actually come here so fast."

"That was Shikamaru's idea. Prepare for the worst, as they say," Kakashi replied with a shrug. "Your summon returned to its dimension, so this time you're going to fly with the rest of us on Sai's painted birds. Come on." He helped Sasuke stand up, but the Uchiha needed support to prevent him from falling over. Kakashi and Sarada brought him the short distance to the ready bird and carefully laid him on top of it, so as not to aggravate his injuries.

Naruto and Shikamaru took the other bird, while Sai and Kakashi guarded Sakura on the third one. They were overly cautious, as she was bound up like a mummy and only her head was sticking out of the sealing scroll to allow her to breathe. The three birds took off simultaneously and flew towards Konoha.

Sasuke noticed Sarada's pensive silence. She was never a loud child, but this was different.

"Sarada, what is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she muttered.

"You're thinking too hard for it to be nothing," he observed. "Tell me."

Sarada took in a shuddering breath. "It's really nothing. I was just thinking about your fight with Mom," she admitted with reluctance.

"How much did you see?"

She averted her gaze downwards. "Almost everything," she said quietly. "Nara-san wanted to back you up, but the Seventh said you two had to... fight it out." Her tone alone clued him in how upset she'd been with the idea.

He sighed tiredly. "Sarada-"

"For a moment there, I thought that you and Mom were really going to kill each other," she interrupted him. "Don't scare me like that!" she added casually with a forced smile, but behind the nonchalance he noticed the lurking insecurity and fear. Sarada was trying to hide just how bothered she was, but as her father he could tell.

Sasuke felt a lump forming in his throat. "You shouldn't have had to see that, Sarada. You did well listening to Naruto." He didn't even want to think what could have happened if she had gotten mixed up in that battle.

Sarada flashed him a strange look, but it disappeared before he could make heads or tails of it.

"Dad, what's going to happen to Mom now?" she asked, looking over to the bird flying in front of them, carrying the captured Sakura.

"We're bringing her back. That's what matters," he said to remind his daughter of the positive side, even though on the inside he shared her concerns. "We'll figure out the rest."

Sarada looked at him to gauge his sincerity, then nodded, her expression clearing a bit as her worries became assuaged for now.

But Sasuke's own worries remained and grew even stronger.

.

At the same time, another father and child had a similar conversation.

Madara was sitting on the front porch like a stone guardian, calmly looking into the darkness of the night. Kazuki slipped out of the house and joined in his silent watch.

"Dad, when will Mom come back?" the boy asked anxiously.

"Hmm, it could take her a few days."

"Are you sure she will come back?"

Madara patted his son's head affectionately. "Of course I am. Nothing will keep her away from those she loves. She will come."

"And what if she can't?" Kazuki asked. Those ninja that kidnapped his mom were pretty strong after all.

"Then," Madara mused with a smirk, "she will need a rescue, won't she? We'll start your training tomorrow."

Kazuki bobbed his head up and down with an enthusiasm of a young boy who wholeheartedly trusts his father.

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AN: Thanks for reading! Sorry it took so long to update this, I was busy the last few months writing SasuSaku, a longer story titled Syncope and fics for SS Month. Check them out if you'd like ;)

To those of you who like Madara and MadaSaku: I'd like to write a story about them in the future, but I have too many ideas, so I made a poll. It's on top of my profile. Please vote and let me know which ideas you'd be the most interested in :)

Please let me know how you liked this chapter and see you next time!


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